When probes are inserted into the brain for research or clinical purposes, the electrical activity of neurons is recorded. These signals can be used to understand how the brain performs certain computations or even to identify pathological states. However, brains are composed of cell types that perform different roles in computation and are differentially affected by certain psychiatric disorders or drugs. Without a deep understanding of how cell types orchestrate the overall activity patterns, we cannot develop the next generation of therapies.

“While a variety of disorders can be understood via overall activity alone, a growing number of psychiatric disorders are being recognized as arising from the perturbed interactions between specific cell types rather than changes in overall activity. These so-called ‘circuitopathies’ include human diseases such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and some forms of epilepsy.