Genetic Control of Basal Telencephalic Development

Dysregulation of basal ganglia and cortical development in the forebrain is central to epilepsy, mental deficiency, autism and schizophrenia. During forebrain development, the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) generates GABAergic projection neurons in the basal ganglia and GABAergic interneurons in the cortex and hippocampus. We aim to identify transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms that control cell fate specification and neuronal differentiation of these forebrain GABAergic neurons - information that will lead to insights into how abnormalities in specific gene networks cause human neuropsychiatric disorders. Project Number: 1R01MH139751-01A1 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) | Principal Investigator: JOHN RUBENSTEIN | Institution: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, SAN FRANCISCO, CA | Award Amount: $832,307 | Activity Code: R01 | Study Section: Neurogenesis and Cell Fate Study Section[NCF] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11298109