Modeling the Brain in the Culture Dish: Advancements and Applications of Induced Pluripotent Stem-Cell-Derived Neurons

Stem cell technologies have markedly influenced scientific progress in neuroscience research. The optimization of differentiation and induction protocols to selectively produce specific subsets of neurons offers much promise for the modeling of neuropsychiatric disease, furthering our understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms. To this end, cerebral organoids, carefully structured from neurally differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), proved invaluable over the course of the 2015-2016 Zika virus epidemic. Despite some molecular complexities that remain elusive, hiPSCs clearly possess translational benefits in drug testing for disease treatments, with future utilization in the transplantation and gene-editing realms. This chapter provides a glimpse into the derivation, manipulation, and application of hiPSC-based models in neurological disease.