AUTHOR=Kim Dae-Sung , Ross P. Joel , Zaslavsky Kirill , Ellis James 

TITLE=Optimizing neuronal differentiation from induced pluripotent stem cells to model ASD

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncel.2014.00109

DOI=10.3389/fncel.2014.00109

ISSN=1662-5102

ABSTRACT=<p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an early-onset neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. Despite its high prevalence, discovery of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying ASD has lagged due to a lack of appropriate model systems. Recent advances in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology and neural differentiation techniques allow for detailed functional analyses of neurons generated from living individuals with ASD. Refinement of cortical neuron differentiation methods from iPSCs will enable mechanistic studies of specific neuronal subpopulations that may be preferentially impaired in ASD. In this review, we summarize recent accomplishments in differentiation of cortical neurons from human pluripotent stems cells and efforts to establish <italic>in vitro</italic> model systems to study ASD using personalized neurons.</p>