Enables chromatin binding activity and double-stranded DNA binding activity. Involved in several processes, including generation of neurons; negative regulation of cell differentiation; and neuronal stem cell population maintenance. Acts upstream of or within negative regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II. Predicted to be active in nucleus. Orthologous to human HES5 (hes family bHLH transcription factor 5). [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Apr 2022]