  Organoids are prototypes of human organs derived from cultured human stem
cells. They provide a reliable and accurate experimental model to study the
physical mechanisms underlying the early developmental stages of human organs
morphogenesis and, in particular, the early morphogenesis of the cortex. Here,
we propose a mathematical model to elucidate the role played by two mechanisms
which have been experimentally proven to be crucial in shaping human brain
organoids: the contraction of the inner core of the organoid and the
microstructural remodeling of the outer cortex. Our results show that both
mechanisms are crucial for the final shape of the organoid and can explain the
origin of brain pathologies such as lissencephaly (smooth brain).
