Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal models in psychiatry: Mechanistic insights and translational horizons

Table 2 Functional phenotyping platforms for induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal models in psychiatry

Platform	Primary readout	Strengths	Limitations	Best suited for
Patch clamp	Single-cell electrophysiology (action potentials, synaptic currents, ion-channel function)	Highest functional resolution; direct measurement of neuronal physiology	Low throughput; technically demanding	Mechanistic studies and validation of ion-channel or synaptic phenotypes
MEA	Network activity, burst dynamics, synchrony	Non-invasive, longitudinal recordings; suitable for moderate-throughput screening	Limited single-cell resolution; influenced by culture density and maturity	Drug screening, network phenotyping, subgroup identification
Calcium imaging	Single-cell and network activity dynamics	Higher throughput than patch clamp; enables population-level analysis	Indirect measure of electrical activity; lower temporal resolution	Functional comparison between donor groups and pharmacological studies
High-content imaging	Neurite morphology, synaptic markers, cell survival	Scalable and highly multiplexed	Primarily structural rather than functional	Morphological phenotyping and toxicity/rescue assays
Single-cell/spatial transcriptomics	Cell identity, pathway activity, cellular composition	High molecular resolution; identifies disease-associated cell states	Destructive, expensive, not a direct functional assay	Molecular characterization, organoid quality control, pathway discovery

MEA: Multielectrode array.