Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Published online: 01 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41573-026-01513-4 Solute carrier transporters are critical for maintaining central nervous system homeostasis, and their dysregulation is implicated in neurological diseases. This Review discusses the roles of solute carriers in neurodegenerative diseases, autism spectrum disorders and epilepsy, highlighting therapeutic strategies to modulate their activity, emerging technologies and tools to aid drug development as well as agents currently in clinical trials.