The development of the nervous system is a long process that begins during early stages of embryonic growth. Morphologically, primordial structures of the nervous system begin to form during the neurulation process. This then continues with the formation of telencephalic vesicles, the brain, spinal cord, and accompanying structures. For practical reason, most of the research dealing with the developmental process of the nervous system have used experimental model organisms and thus, we have gained important insights on how the process unfold across various species. Therefore, while we will focus on human development, research using model organisms will be included to discuss more detailed mechanistic insights. In this regard, evolution dictates not only the conservation of the developmental process with common ground across vertebrates but also finding important variations. As an example, although mammals, birds, and amphibians all undergo secondary neurulation, they have differences in primary neurulation. Regardless of that, experimental models have been instrumental in providing answer to the etiology of a number of human disorders, especially in cases where human mutations have been evaluated. Importantly, in recent years human-specific mechanistic insights have been achieved with the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) technology.