Summary Cerebral organoids (COs) are rapidly accelerating the rate of translational neuroscience based on their potential to model complex features of the developing human brain. Several studies have examined the electrophysiological and neural network features of COs; however, no study has comprehensively investigated the developmental trajectory of electrophysiological properties in whole-brain COs and correlated these properties with developmentally linked morphological and cellular features. Here, we profiled the neuroelectrical activities of COs over the span of 5 months with a multi-electrode array platform and observed the emergence and maturation of several electrophysiologic properties, including rapid firing rates and network bursting events. To complement these analyses, we characterized the complex molecular and cellular development that gives rise to these mature neuroelectrical properties with immunohistochemical and single-cell transcriptomic analyses. This integrated approach highlights the value of COs as an emerging model system of human brain development and neurological disease.

Neural circuits are the underlying functional units of the human brain that govern complex behavior and higher-order cognitive processes. Disruptions in neural circuit development have been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and schizophrenia. Until recently, major efforts utilizing neurological disease modeling platforms based on human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), investigated disease phenotypes primarily at the single cell level. However, recent advances in brain organoid systems, microfluidic devices, and advanced optical and electrical interfaces, now allow more complex hiPSC-based systems to model neuronal connectivity and investigate the specific brain circuitry implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. Here we review emerging research advances in studying brain circuitry using in vitro and in vivo disease modeling platforms including microfluidic devices, enhanced functional recording interfaces, and brain organoid systems. Research efforts in these areas have already yielded critical insights into pathophysiological mechanisms and will continue to stimulate innovation in this promising area of translational research.

Glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) are highly self-renewing, resistant to therapy, and are able to form lethal tumors1,2. Tumor organoids have been developed to study tumor evolution1-4, and while GSCs can form organoids for glioblastoma multiforme, our understanding of their intrinsic immune, metabolic, genetic, and molecular programs is limited. To address this, we deeply characterized GSC-derived GBM organoids using a modified protocol (GBMOsm) from several patient-derived GSCs and found they develop into complex 3D tissues with unique self-organization, cancerous metabolic states, and burdensome genetic landscapes. We discovered that GBMOsc recapitulate the presence of two important cell populations thought to drive GBM progression, SATB2+ and HOPX+ progenitors. Despite being devoid of immune cells, transcriptomic analysis across GBMOsc revealed an immune-like molecular program, enriched in cytokine, antigen presentation and processing, T-cell receptor inhibitors, and interferon genes. We determined that SATB2+ and HOPX+ populations contribute to this immune and interferon landscape in GBM in vivo and GBMOsm. Our work deepens our understanding of the intrinsic molecular and cellular architecture of GSC-derived GBMO and defines a novel GBMOsm intrinsic immune-like program.

Research on neurological disorders focuses primarily on the impact of neurons on disease mechanisms. Limited availability of animal models severely impacts the study of cell type specific contributions to disease. Moreover, animal models usually do not reflect variability in mutations and disease courses seen in human patients. Reprogramming methods for generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have revolutionized patient specific research and created valuable tools for studying disease mechanisms. However, iPSC technology has disadvantages such as time, labor commitment, clonal selectivity and loss of epigenetic markers.Recent modifications of these methods allow more direct generation of cell lineages or specific cell types, bypassing clonal isolation or a pluripotent stem cell state. We have developed a rapid direct conversion method to generate induced Neuronal Progenitor Cells (iNPCs) from skin fibroblasts utilizing retroviral vectors in combination with neuralizing media. The iNPCs can be differentiated into neurons (iNs) oligodendrocytes (iOs) and astrocytes (iAs). iAs production facilitates rapid drug and disease mechanism testing as differentiation from iNPCs only takes 5 days.Moreover, iAs are easy to work with and are generated in pure populations at large numbers. We developed a highly reproducible co-culture assay using mouse GFP + neurons and patient derived iAs to evaluate potential therapeutic strategies for numerous neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Importantly, the iA assays are scalable to 384-well format facilitating the evaluation of multiple small molecules in one plate. This approach allows simultaneous therapeutic evaluation of multiple patient cell lines with diverse genetic background. Easy production and storage of iAs and capacity to screen multiple compounds in one assay renders this methodology adaptable for personalized medicine.

Patient diversity and unknown disease cause are major challenges for drug development and clinical trial design for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Transgenic animal models do not adequately reflect the heterogeneity of ALS. Direct reprogramming of patient fibroblasts to neuronal progenitor cells and subsequent differentiation into patient astrocytes allows rapid generation of disease relevant cell types. Thus, this methodology can facilitate compound testing in a diverse genetic background resulting in a more representative population for therapeutic evaluation. Here, we used established co‐culture assays with motor neurons and reprogrammed patient skin‐derived astrocytes (iAs) to evaluate the effects of (SP‐4‐2)‐[[2,2’‐(1,2‐dimethyl‐1,2‐ethanediylidene)bis[N‐methylhydrazinecarbothioamidato‐κN2,κS]](2‐)]‐copper (CuATSM), currently in clinical trial for ALS in Australia. Pretreatment of iAs with CuATSM had a differential effect on neuronal survival following co‐culture with healthy motor neurons. Using this assay, we identified responding and non‐responding cell lines for both sporadic and familial ALS (mutant SOD1 and C9ORF72). Importantly, elevated mitochondrial respiration was the common denominator in all CuATSM‐responders, a metabolic phenotype not observed in non‐responders. Pre‐treatment of iAs with CuATSM restored mitochondrial activity to levels comparable to healthy controls. Hence, this metabolic parameter might allow selection of patient subpopulations best suited for CuATSM treatment. Moreover, CuATSM might have additional therapeutic value for mitochondrial disorders. Enhanced understanding of patient‐specific cellular and molecular profiles could help improve clinical trial design in the future.