Neurogenesis in the developing and adult nervous system is dynamically regulated by both intrinsic factors and extrinsic niche cues. While a number of molecular pathways, in isolation, have been shown to impact specific processes of adult neurogenesis (Duan et al., 2008), we are just beginning to unravel how some of these signaling complexes may interact to orchestrate the dynamic interaction of neurogenesis-related events. Our study reveals a critical interaction between extrinsic GABA and intrinsic DISC1 signaling in regulating dendritic growth of newborn neurons and how the functional impact of this interaction is dictated by developmental tempo and experience. Interestingly, DISC1 and depolarizing GABA signaling also interact synergistically to affect risk for schizophrenia. There are a number of important implications from our results.
