Required for the development and function of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a part of the thalamus that is critical for thalamocortical transmission, generation of sleep rhythms, sensorimotor processing and attention. Widely expressed, including in various regions of the brain with highest expression in the gray and white cerebellum, followed by the cerebellar vermis and the pituitary gland. Disease susceptibility is associated with variants affecting the gene represented in this entry. Belongs to the patched family.