neurons exhibit electrical activity within two weeks and show accelerated formation of SYN1-positive puncta and increased expression of glutamatergic genes, even in the absence of co-culture with mouse cortical neurons or glial cells (Figs. 3 and 4). Moreover, transient mNgn2-expression is sufficient to accelerate synaptogenesis and induce neuronal activity in mNgn2-neurons (Figs. 5 and 6). The method presented here provides a rapid and efficient platform to derive functional human excitatory neurons for the study of – and ultimately high-throughput drug screenings to reverse – the molecular and cellular phenotypes associated with psychiatric disease.
