The chandelier cell, form and function

•Chandelier cells (ChCs) have specific spatial and temporal origins.•ChCs can depolarize or hyperpolarize the pyramidal cell based on its resting membrane potential.•Nkx2.1CreERT2 reporter line is the first mouse line for studying a specific interneuron subtype.•ChC-specific defects reported in interneuron-specific ErbB4 knockouts (ErbB4 CKO).•ErbB4 CKOs have schizophrenia-like endophenotypes, providing a direct link to ChCs.

Among γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) interneurons, the chandelier cell (ChC) has captured the interest of neuroscientists for a very long time as a subtype not described by Ramon y Cajal. ChCs feature an axonal arborization that selectively innervates the axon initial segments of pyramidal cells. Recent studies involving transgenic mice have identified intriguing features of ChCs, including a remarkably specific spatial and temporal origins, their capacity to have either excitatory or inhibitory influences on pyramidal neurons, and their synaptic alterations in schizophrenia. This review explores these and other developmental and functional aspects of this fascinating cortical neuronal subtype.