The lab of Niels Cornelisse is interested in how nerve cells communicate with each other in the brain and how this contributes to cognition and intelligence. Their focus is on genes that control the release of signaling molecules, the neurotransmitters, in the contact point between nerve cells, the synapses. They use electrical measurements in human and mouse neurons and mathematical models to investigate the mechanisms by which STXBP1 and other synaptic genes regulate the fusion of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles in the synapse. Specifically we are interested in how STXBP1 affects the balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain, which is disturbed in many brain disorders, including epilepsy and intellectual disability.