Curing Autism, Epilepsy & Schizophrenia with Stem Cells | Dr. Sergiu Pașca

About this video

Psychiatrist and stem-cell researcher Dr. Sergiu Pasca discusses autism, schizophrenia, and human brain development. Dr. Pasca explains autism is behaviorally defined, with no biomarker, and describes a spectrum ranging from people who live functional independent lives to profound autism requiring constant care. He notes prevalence is now close to almost 3 percent of the general population. Dr. Pasca recounts how his lab moved from flat neuron cultures to floating three-dimensional cultures, now called organoids, after finding cortical development timing is recapitulated in a dish, including the roughly 27 weeks needed to generate cortical neurons. He explains organoids and assembloids, human brain circuits derived from stem cells, let researchers study what goes wrong in psychiatric illness directly and develop treatments aimed at the most severe cases.

Key takeaways

• Dr. Pasca explains autism is diagnosed by behavior and has no biomarker.
• Dr. Pasca notes autism prevalence is close to almost 3 percent of the general population.
• Dr. Pasca describes organoids as three-dimensional stem-cell cultures that self-organize in a dish.
• Dr. Pasca says cortical neuron development timing in a dish mirrors development in the brain.
• Dr. Pasca explains assembloids are used to study circuits involved in profound autism and schizophrenia.

Episode details: published August 18, 2025 · 105K views · 2:23:15 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The science and protocols described are Andrew Huberman’s, presented for education — not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before changing your own health practices.

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