Our interactions with the outside world trigger changes in neurons that are critical for proper brain development and higher cognitive function. Experience-driven neuronal activity shapes gene expression in ways that promote the maturation and refinement of neural circuits.

The Greenberg lab studies precisely how, at a molecular level, neuronal activity controls gene expression and connectivity in the brain. A number of human brain developmental disorders, including autism and Rett syndrome, have now been linked to abnormalities in experience-driven brain pathways. Our lab studies the underlying basis of such neurological disorders.