Recent genetic evidence indicates that neuregulin 1 (NRG1) and its receptor erbB4 may be susceptibility genes in schizophrenia, but their function in CNS synaptic transmission and circuitry is not well understood. In this issue of Neuron, studies from Li et al. and Woo et al. show that NRG1 and erbB4 regulate transmission at brain glutamate and GABA synapses. These findings raise the possibilit...

Myelination in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is induced by close contact signaling between axons and Schwann cells. Previous studies have identified membrane-bound neuregulin-1 (Nrg1) type III, expressed on the axons, as the key instructive signal that regulates Schwann cell myelination. In our recent study, we show that recombinant soluble Nrg1 elicits a similar pro-myelinating effect on...