A GABAergic projection from the zona incerta to cortex promotes cortical neuron development

Circuits for brain building The brain is made up of circuits. Chen and Kriegstein analyzed how one particular circuit functions differently in developing and mature mouse brains (see the Perspective by Spitzer). This circuit connects the brain's diencephalon to the cortex. Early in development, the circuit is excitatory and affects how the cortical neurons it touches build their dendrites and synapses. Later on, after the fundamentals of brain construction are in place, the circuit switches to inhibitory functions, helping the brain resist epileptiform activity. Science , this issue p. 554 ; see also p. 510