The discovery of iPSCs has transformed our ability to study complex tissue phenotypes in the laboratory and has exciting implications for personalized medicine. Yet, culturing iPSC-derived cell lines can be very challenging. This has been the case with neuronal cells and our report of a method that can pattern adult human neurons for periods of several months represents a critical advance in harnessing the potential of iPSC-derived neurons. We believe studying biological processes such as mitochondrial transport and dynamic network formation in these neuronal cultures will be important for understanding disease-relevant mechanisms of clinically significant human brain pathologies such as PD, AD and ALS.
