The brain is one of the most complex organs, responsible for the advanced intellectual and cognitive ability of humans. Although primates are to some extent capable of performing cognitive tasks, their abilities are less evolved. One of the reasons for this is the vast differences in the brain of humans compared to other mammals, in terms of shape, size and complexity. Such differences make the study of human brain development fascinating. Interestingly, the cerebral cortex is by far the most complex brain region resulting from its selective evolution within mammals over millions of years. Unraveling the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating brain development, as well as the evolutionary differences seen across species and the need to understand human brain disorders, are some of the reasons why scientists are interested in improving their current knowledge on human corticogenesis. Toward this end, several animal models including primates have been used, however, these models are limited in their extent to recapitulate human‐specific features. Recent technological achievements in the field of stem cell research, which have enabled the generation of human models of corticogenesis, called brain or cerebral organoids, are of great importance. This review focuses on the main cellular and molecular features of human corticogenesis and the use of brain organoids to study it. We will discuss the key differences between cortical development in human and nonhuman mammals, the technological applications of brain organoids and the different aspects of cortical development in normal and pathological conditions, which can be modeled using brain organoids.

中文翻译：

---

使用脑类器官来研究人类神经发育，进化和疾病。

大脑是最复杂的器官之一，负责人类先进的智力和认知能力。尽管灵长类动物在一定程度上能够执行认知任务，但它们的能力却很少发展。原因之一是就形状，大小和复杂性而言，人类大脑与其他哺乳动物相比存在巨大差异。这种差异使对人类大脑发育的研究引人入胜。有趣的是，迄今为止，大脑皮层是最复杂的大脑区域，这是由于其在哺乳动物中经过数百万年的选择性进化所致。阐明调节大脑发育的分子和细胞机制，以及跨物种的进化差异以及了解人类大脑疾病的需求，这是科学家对提高他们目前对人类皮质发生的知识感兴趣的一些原因。为此，已经使用了包括灵长类在内的几种动物模型，但是这些模型在概括人类特有特征的程度上受到限制。干细胞研究领域的最新技术成就非常重要，这使得能够生成称为大脑或大脑类器官的人类皮质发生模型。这篇综述着重于人类皮质发生的主要细胞和分子特征以及大脑类器官的研究。我们将讨论人类和非人类哺乳动物的皮质发育，大脑类器官的技术应用以及正常和病理条件下皮质发育的不同方面之间的主要区别，