Involved in transcriptional activation and repression of select genes by chromatin remodeling (alteration of DNA-nucleosome topology). Component of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes that carry out key enzymatic activities, changing chromatin structure by altering DNA-histone contacts within a nucleosome in an ATP-dependent manner. Binds DNA non-specifically. Belongs to the neural progenitors- specific chromatin remodeling complex (npBAF complex) and the neuron- specific chromatin remodeling complex (nBAF complex). During neural development a switch from a stem/progenitor to a postmitotic chromatin remodeling mechanism occurs as neurons exit the cell cycle and become committed to their adult state. The transition from proliferating neural stem/progenitor cells to postmitotic neurons requires a switch in subunit composition of the npBAF and nBAF complexes. As neural progenitors exit mitosis and differentiate into neurons, npBAF complexes which contain ACTL6A/BAF53A and PHF10/BAF45A, are exchanged for homologous alternative ACTL6B/BAF53B and DPF1/BAF45B or DPF3/BAF45C subunits in neuron-specific complexes (nBAF). The npBAF complex is essential for the self-renewal/proliferative capacity of the multipotent neural stem cells. The nBAF complex along with CREST plays a role regulating the activity of genes essential for dendrite growth (By similarity). {ECO:0000250|UniProtKB:A2BH40, ECO:0000303|PubMed:12672490, ECO:0000303|PubMed:22952240, ECO:0000303|PubMed:26601204}. This is the function of ARID1A (AT-rich interaction domain 1A, Ensembl gene identifier ENSG00000117713).