Activity-dependent formation of cortical circuitry during early development

Synapses link individual neurons into a functional circuit. Proper cell-to-cell connection is therefore a fundamental mechanism for normal brain functions, and abnormal connections result in various forms of brain disorders or death. During early cortical development, each neuron elongates its axons and dendrites, forming synapses with both interneurons and excitatory neurons. Amazingly, these excitatory and inhibitory synapses are highly intermingled in dendrites with micron-precision, but the specific rules that govern this precise synaptic localization remain unknown.