Building lab-grown human brain parts to learn about autism and other brain disorders
Gaining insight into psychiatric disease by engineering piece by piece the human brain in vitro
Researchers grow human brain-like tissue and transplant it into rodents to better understand autism and other psychiatric conditions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11133165 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers create tiny human brain organoids from stem cells and link them into assembloids that mimic specific brain regions and cell types. They transplant those human assembloids into a rodent's cortex so the human cells can mature with real brain inputs and show circuit-level activity and behavior. By combining excitatory and inhibitory neurons, the team aims to model the balance that is often altered in autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. They will also use cells with known genetic mutations to see how those mutations change circuit formation and function.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with autism or related genetic neurodevelopmental disorders might be relevant to this research if they can donate cells or participate in future related clinical efforts.
Not a fit: Individuals seeking immediate clinical treatment should not expect direct personal benefit from this laboratory-based, preclinical work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal how human brain circuits go wrong in autism and point to targets for future treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Organoid and assembloid work has already given new insights into human neuron development, but transplanting human assembloids into animals for psychiatric disease modeling is a relatively new approach with limited prior translation to therapies.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pasca, Sergiu — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Pasca, Sergiu
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.