Meeting room: Centre Broca

Tommaso Pizzorusso
Univ of Florence, Italy

Invited by Giovanni Marsicano

Title
Brain wide approaches to neuroplasticity and behavior

Abstract
I will explore the use of brain atlases in the study of the expression of plasticity-related factors, such as perineuronal nets (PNNs), and their application in detecting activation patterns (c-fos mapping) during emotional contagion. Brain atlases provide a detailed anatomical framework to understand the regulation of PNNs, which are crucial for regulating synaptic plasticity and stability. Furthermore, brain atlases enable the identification of activation maps in both demonstrators and observers during emotional contagion, where emotional states are shared between individuals. By examining these activation patterns, we can gain insights into the neural mechanisms underlying empathy and social cognition. The integration of brain atlases with existing datasets offers exciting opportunities to enhance research in this area. Linking these atlases to publicly available gene expression and connectomics datasets allows for more comprehensive analyses.

Meeting room: Centre Broca

Organised by Giovanni Marsicano (Magendie)

About the symposium
Metabolic interactions between glial cells and neurons shape synaptic function and modulate behavior. In the brain, astrocytes and myelinating oligodendrocytes supply neurons with energy substrates, mainly lactate, to provide homeostatic metabolic support for axonal function and integrity. The metabolic features of neuron-glia interactions are complex and heterogeneous, and emerge nowadays as novel players in the pathogenesis of neurological disorders. This symposium will present recent evidence on the cellular mechanisms underlying metabolic cooperation between astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and neurons and their implications at the synaptic and behavioral levels and provide insights on the bioenergetic perturbations affecting glial cells during neuroinflammation.

Rui Rodrigues, INSERM postdoctoral researcher in the team of Giovanni Marsicano at Neurocentre Magendie, was recently awarded a 2-year Marie Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Life Sciences category for his project “DefenCB1: Deciphering the role of striatal CB1 receptors in defensive behaviours”. This prestigious award marks a significant milestone in his career.

He is currently investigating what are the circuits in the brain responsible for adaptive behaviours in response to threats. In particular, DefenCB1 aims at understanding how the endocannabinoid system regulates defensive behaviours by determining how cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors control the active-passive balance during threat response. This project will provide important insights into the mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders characterized by maladaptive coping.

A future in Neuropsychopharmacology and Science Communication

Rui Rodrigues has also recently received the “Junior Investigator Award” from the Global Stress and Resilience Network to showcase his work at the Stress and Resilience conference. Apart from science, he is the founder and managing director of “Fala-me Neuro”, a science communication project that fosters neuroscience literacy in Portuguese (more details: https://www.falameneuro.pt/). This project has been gaining traction by wining multiple awards (ESCI Science Communication and FENS/Dana Foundation BAW Awards in 2024) and has recently matured into a non-profit organization that will keep a commitment to (neuro)science outreach.

About MSCA
This year, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) awarded €260 million to postdoctoral research, with a total of 1,249 postdocs being selected for funding among 8,039 applicants. This will allow these researchers to develop a set of research and transferable skills and competences, ultimately leading to improved employability and career prospects within academia and beyond.