How lab-grown human mini-brains reveal causes of developmental and psychiatric brain disorders
Official title: Elucidating the molecular mechanisms behind human neurodevelopmental disorders using brain organoids
Funded at University of California Los Angeles · NIH-11243541 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are using lab-grown human brain organoids to learn how genetic and environmental changes alter brain cell activity in people with developmental and psychiatric conditions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | February 16, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $719,203 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH130061-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11243541 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people with diagnosed neurodevelopmental or neuropsychiatric disorders (or their caregivers) who are willing to donate blood or skin cells to create induced pluripotent stem cells.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking an immediate clinical treatment or those without neurodevelopmental or psychiatric diagnoses are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this lab-based research.
What this research studies
If you take part, researchers grow donated stem cells into tiny, organized brain structures called organoids that mimic parts of the developing human brain. They fuse organoids representing different brain regions so excitatory and inhibitory brain cells can mix and generate electrical network activity, which the team records and analyzes. Organoids made from people with neurodevelopmental disorders will be compared to those from typical donors, and researchers will test how specific genes or drugs change network behavior. This work aims to connect cell- and circuit-level changes to symptoms and point to new treatment strategies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify new drug targets or approaches to correct abnormal brain circuit activity in developmental and psychiatric disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Other teams have used human brain organoids to model growth defects and infection and recent fusion-organoid work has shown complex network activity, but using organoids to map disease-related circuit dysfunction is still an emerging approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Novitch, Bennett G — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Novitch, Bennett G
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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.