New avenues for modeling human brain function and disease in vitro

Cell cultures of human-derived cells are an up-and-coming tool used for disease modeling and drug discovery in the field of neuroscience. Most of these models take advantage of the wide accessibility of largely expandable human pluripotent stem cells and their amenability to genome editing and controlled differentiation into an increasing number of nervous system-specific cellular subtypes. In this perspective, we cover recent advances in cell programming, neural organoid technology, and theoretical modeling of neuronal network activity, which can uncover non-physiological events observed in cell culture and thus enhance the reliability of these reductionist systems. While such in vitro models have certain limitations, the combination of neural in vitro culture and computational modeling may open new avenues for personalized medicine. Summarizing representative opinions from participants of the 15th Meeting of the German Neuroscience Society, we also illuminate the impact of human stem cell-based in vitro systems as a complementary strategy to traditional animal models.