[4] Multiple family members are generated by alternate splicing or by use of several cell type-specific transcription initiation sites.

In general, they bind to and activate the erbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases (erbB2 (HER2), erbB3 (HER3), and erbB4 (HER4)), functioning both as heterodimers and homodimers.

The ectodomain then migrates across the synaptic cleft and binds to and activates a member of the EGF-receptor family on the postsynaptic membrane.

NRG1 appears to signal for glutamate-receptor subunit expression, localization, and /or phosphorylation facilitating subsequent glutamate transmission.

A study done on mice in early 2009 has indicated that when neuregulin-1\ErbB signalling is disrupted, the dendritic spines of neurons grow but do not fully form.