General principles underlying the assembly of cortical inhibitory circuits

Dr Marín is a neuroscientist studying the growth, movement and wiring of interneurons in the cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of the brain. He will explore how the development of inhibitory interneurons influences the structure and function of the cerebral cortex. Specifically, he hopes to elucidate the genetic and molecular factors in the brain that influence interneuron lineage, location and wiring. He also plans to investigate the mechanisms that emerge within populations of neurons to drive the identity, distribution and number of cortical interneurons. Dr Marín's work could shed light on the pathophysiology of disorders such as epilepsy, autism and schizophrenia, while also bringing us a step closer to understanding how brain function might arise from the assembly of neural circuits.