Cód. SSPA: IBiS-B-07
Our research is focused on the study of prevalent brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, autism and other neurological disorders, combining Neurobiology and Human Genetics approaches. To this aim, we study the molecular mechanisms that mediate synapse formation in normal conditions and in brain disorders.
Our specific aims are:
- The study of the synaptic pathway mediated by adhesion molecules such as neurexins and neuroligins in normal conditions and how this is affected in brain disorders.
- The phenotypic and molecular characterization of animal models that reproduce genetic alterations identified in patients.
- The identification of genetic variants associated with brain disorders, mainly Alzheimer's disease and autism.
To reach these goals, we follow a combined approach that includes behavioral assays in mouse models, cellular and molecular neurobiology approaches and the study of synapse function using imaging techniques, among others.
