Recent advances in direct conversion technology are of great significance in neuro-regenerative medicine. Conversion of somatic cells to a desired cell type is next generation reprogramming technology for clinical applications. The novel strategy of direct conversion of somatic cells into expandable multipotent neural cells (induced multipotent neural cells, iMNCs) and specific neurons (induced neurons, iNs) opens a new window of opportunities for cell therapy, disease specific modeling, and drug discovery for brain diseases.