How to grow a human brain

How do we study the human brain? We have limited access to human brains, especially during development. Stem cells have the potential to generate different types of tissues including brain. When we put stem cells in a supportive environment with the right cues, they can specialise into different cell types, creating a mini version of an organ: that’s what we call an organoid! Organoids have similar structure and function to the organs they mimic. We can even make region-specific organoids that produce different parts of our brain, including the region that produces cerebrospinal fluid.

Organoids, they’re a bit sci-fi sounding, but these little balls of human cells have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of development. It’s obvious that humans and mice, fish or flies are very different. Yet, a lot of what we know comes from these animal models. So how can we bridge the gap between animal models and understanding complex human organs like the brain? I’ll tell you about the work I do with organoids, and how I harness their potential using xenotransplantation to understand human interneurons - a special type of cell that’s a key player in advanced human cognition.