Skip to main content

MINI REVIEW article

Front. Neural Circuits
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fncir.2024.1453958
This article is part of the Research Topic Bridging Computation, Biophysics, Medicine, and Engineering in Neural Circuits View all 3 articles

Recent advances and applications of human brain models

Provisionally accepted
Kaneyasu Nishimura Kaneyasu Nishimura *Hironobu Osaki Hironobu Osaki Kotaro Tezuka Kotaro Tezuka Daisuke Nakashima Daisuke Nakashima Shintaro Numata Shintaro Numata Yoshito Masamizu Yoshito Masamizu
  • Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Recent advances in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) technologies have prompted the emergence of new research fields and applications for human neurons and brain organoids. Brain organoids have gained attention as an in vitro model system that recapitulates the higher structure, cellular diversity and function of the brain to explore brain development, disease modeling, drug screening, and regenerative medicine. This progress has been accelerated by abundant interactions of brain organoid technology with various research fields. A cross-disciplinary approach with human brain organoid technology offers a higher-ordered advance for more accurately understanding the human brain. In this review, we summarize the status of neural induction in two-and three-dimensional culture systems from hPSCs and the modeling of neurodegenerative diseases using brain organoids. We also highlight the latest bioengineered technologies for the assembly of spatially higher-ordered neural tissues and prospects of brain organoid technology toward the understanding of the potential and abilities of the human brain.

    Keywords: Human pluripotent stem cells, brain region-specific neurons, brain organoids, Assembloids, disease modeling, Bioengineering

    Received: 24 Jun 2024; Accepted: 25 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Nishimura, Osaki, Tezuka, Nakashima, Numata and Masamizu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kaneyasu Nishimura, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.