Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Human development

Advances in mini-brain technology

Two studies integrate cutting-edge techniques to grow and analyse 3D cultured tissues that resemble human brain structures, enabling examination of how brain regions interact and neurons mature. See Articles p.48 & p.54

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Two routes to a mini-brain.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Sasai, Y. Nature 493, 318–326 (2013).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Lancaster, M. A. & Knoblich, J. A. Science 345, 1247125 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lancaster, M. A. et al. Nature 501, 373–379 (2013).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Qian, X. et al. Cell 165, 1238–1254 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Mora-Bermúdez, F. et al. eLife 5, e18683 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Quadrato, G. et al. Nature 545, 48–53 (2017).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Birey, F. et al. Nature 545, 54–59 (2017).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Bortone, D. & Polleux, F. Neuron 62, 53–71 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kelava, I. & Lancaster, M. A. Cell Stem Cell 18, 736–748 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to J. Gray Camp or Barbara Treutlein.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Developmental neuroscience: Miniature human brains

Systems neuroscience: A modern map of the human cerebral cortex

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Camp, J., Treutlein, B. Advances in mini-brain technology. Nature 545, 39–40 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/545039a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/545039a

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing