New research reveals how a class of neurons that help coordinate communication in the brain link up with their target cells, identifying two molecules that must be present before synapses, the structures that carry signals between these partners, can form on the target neurons.

These cells are inhibitory interneurons that connect to a specific location on target excitatory neurons, regulating information processing and maintaining proper balance in brain circuits by controlling how active the excitatory neurons become. Loss of coordination between these two types of cells, which leads to circuit malfunction, is associated with such disorders as epilepsy, depression, autism and schizophrenia.