Grant: Project Grant

The flow of information in the nervous system is dependent on the proper functioning of selective connections between nerve cells that are necessary to control brain activity. An imbalance in the ratio of excitation and inhibition of nerves cells, leading to overactive neuronal circuits, is believed to underlie the behavioural alterations observed in individuals with a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder. Our proposal is aimed at examining the function of a novel signalling pathway that we propose is involved in controlling the ratio of excitation and inhibition in the neuronal circuitry of the cortex to better understand how regulation of this signalling pathway may be used in the future to develop pharmacological approaches to regulate neuronal excitation in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders.