Each year, tens of millions of individuals in the U.S. suffer from neurological and psychiatric disorders including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease, and psychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, depression and schizophrenia. Treatments for these diseases are often completely lacking or only partially effective, due in large part to the difficulty of conducting brain research and the complexity of the brain itself.

Researchers in recent years have developed new models to better represent and study the human brain. The three models considered in this report, all of which generate and use pluripotent stem cells from healthy individuals and patients, are human neural organoids, human neural transplants, and human-animal neural chimeras. The Emerging Field of Human Neural Organoids, Transplants, and Chimeras: Science, Ethics, and Governance reviews the status of research, considers its benefits and risks, discusses associated ethical issues, and considers governance mechanisms for this type of research.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE ON ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND REGULATORY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH NEURAL CHIMERAS AND ORGANOIDS
• COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND LAW
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Summary
  • STUDY CHARGE
  • STUDY FINDINGS
• 1. Introduction
  • OVERVIEW OF BRAIN RESEARCH
  • STUDY CHARGE
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
• 2. The Science of Human Neural Organoids, Transplants, and Chimeras
  • HUMAN NEURAL ORGANOIDS
  • HUMAN NEURAL TRANSPLANTS
  • HUMAN NEURAL CHIMERAS
  • CAPACITIES OF HUMAN NEURAL ORGANOIDS, TRANSPLANTS, AND CHIMERAS
  • MEASURING CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN NEURAL ORGANOIDS, TRANSPLANTS, AND CHIMERAS
• 3. Ethical Concerns
  • ISSUES COMMON TO ALL THREE MODELS
  • ISSUES SPECIFIC TO HUMAN NEURAL ORGANOIDS, TRANSPLANTS, AND CHIMERAS
  • ETHICAL ISSUES SPECIFIC TO HUMAN NEURAL ORGANOIDS
  • SUMMARY
• 4. Oversight and Governance
  • USE OF HUMAN STEM CELLS
  • INFORMED CONSENT
  • USE AND CARE OF ANIMALS IN RESEARCH
  • USE OF NONHUMAN PRIMATES IN RESEARCH
  • U.S. POLICY AND GUIDANCE SPECIFIC TO NEURAL TRANSPLANTS AND CHIMERAS
  • GRADED OVERSIGHT: A THREE-TIERED APPROACH
  • INTERNATIONAL POLICY SPECIFIC TO NEURAL ORGANOIDS, TRANSPLANTS, AND CHIMERAS
  • FUTURE OVERSIGHT
• 5. Public Engagement
  • PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT INTERNATIONALLY AND IN THE UNITED STATES
  • POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
  • NOMENCLATURE
• 6. Findings of the Committee
  • VALUE OF THIS RESEARCH
• REFERENCES
• Appendix A. Biographies of Committee and Staff Members
• Appendix B. Committee Meeting Agendas

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. The Emerging Field of Human Neural Organoids, Transplants, and Chimeras: Science, Ethics, and Governance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26078.

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26078

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021938584

Cover image: High-magnification view of a neural organoid modeling early stages of development of the cerebral cortex. Image courtesy of Silvia Velasco and Paola Arlotta, Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University.

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