University of California, Irvine researchers engineer regional identity in lab-grown brain organoids

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have developed a method to engineer lab-grown human brain tissue with a defined regional identity. This breakthrough allows scientists to produce neocortical organoids—three-dimensional tissues grown from human stem cells—that possess the specific characteristics of either the front or the back of the developing cerebral cortex.

This process, known as “arealization,” is critical to how the brain organizes itself into distinct areas responsible for functions such as vision, movement, and language. Previously, reproducing this regional organization in lab-grown models has been a significant challenge because much of this patterning occurs before birth.

The ability to steer organoids toward specific regional identities could provide vital insights into human brain development and help researchers understand the disruptions that lead to various neurodevelopmental disorders. The study was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.