The human brain is the most complex organ in the body, comprised of thousands of distinct types of neurons (electrically excitable cells) and glia (supporting cells), including billions of individual neural cells, connected via trillions of synapses. Dysfunction of the brain or peripheral nervous system leads to neurological and psychiatric disorders, which collectively are the leading cause of disability in the United States and among the leading causes of death. Researchers at IGS are studying fundamental mechanisms underlying the development and function of the nervous system, and how dysfunction of these mechanisms leads to neurological and psychiatric disorders, using a variety of cutting-edge genomic technologies.