Homeostatic control of neural function.

Fruit flies are helping scientists uncover how nerve cells keep themselves stable without becoming rigid—a balancing act that prevents the brain from spiralling into dysfunction. The problem is that brains must be both stable and flexible. Neurons constantly adjust their signalling in response to experience, but without a homeostatic "brake" they can tip into runaway activity or dangerous silence. This fundamental gap in understanding—how cells maintain their set point while still learning—limits our grasp of neurological diseases where this balance fails. This is fundamental science. The team is using the genetic toolkit of *Drosophila* to identify the genes that control presynaptic neurotransmitter release and cellular excitability. They will then translate those discoveries into vertebrate systems, following emerging evidence that homeostatic signalling is linked to the cause and progression of neurological disease. If successful, this work will define how homeostatic signalling operates from individual genes to behaviourally relevant circuit plasticity. There is no immediate clinical application, but similar fundamental research on synaptic homeostasis has already reshaped understanding of epilepsy, autism, and motor neuron disease. A deeper grasp of these core mechanisms could eventually reveal new targets for stabilising neural function in disorders where it has gone awry.