Neuroscience: Human brain organoids form neural networks in mice (Nature)
17 September 2026
Human brain organoids (3D brain-like tissue grown from human cells) transplanted into mice are shown to replicate some features of brain development, including the formation of functional neural networks that can support brain activity, a study in Nature demonstrates. The achievement is facilitated by the development of a method for producing mice with a reduced brain volume to enable the integration of the human brain organoid. This model may support the study of human brain development in more detail than was previously possible.
The study of human brain development has been limited by the inaccessibility of brain tissue, but stem-cell-based models have helped to address this challenge. Transplanting brain organoids into rodent hosts offers an opportunity to explore how human neurons function and can be used to study disease and potential treatments. However, limited space and competition with rodent neurons have restricted the integration of human brain organoids within their hosts.
Sergiu Pașca and colleagues sought to improve the outcomes of such transplantation experiments. They designed a genetic strategy for generating mice with depleted cortex regions, which makes space for human brain organoids to integrate. The transplanted organoids are shown to grow well; they occupy most of the space, differentiate into a diverse range of human brain cells, organize into neural circuits and form complex structures that resemble cortical tissue. The integrated cortical tissue may contribute to some behavioural outcomes; comparisons of cortex-depleted mice with and without the organoids demonstrate differences in motor and memory tasks.
The authors test some potential applications for this system. For example, differences in gait were observed as an effect of hypoxic injury (when tissues do not receive enough oxygen). These observations demonstrate the potential to study human disease or neurodevelopmental disorders in more detail.
The experiments were conducted following rigorous ethical guidelines, the authors note; they emphasize the importance of establishing suitable guidance covering the potential social, medical and ethical implications of ongoing work on such models. They hope that this approach will be useful for studying neurodevelopment, modelling disease, and potentially developing therapeutics in the future.
- Article
- Open access
- Published: 16 September 2026
Kaganovsky, K., Kelley, K.W., Gschwind, T. et al. Developmental xenocortication using human-derived organoids in mice. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11032-2
Nature Podcast: Transplanted human brain-tissue takes root in mice without a cortex
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02927-1
© 2026 Springer Nature Limited. All Rights Reserved.
