Neuropharmacology

Neural diseases includedmental illnesses are most likely associated to the impairment of brain neurotransmission pathways that mediate certain physiological functions. The normal behaviour of both humans and laboratory animals depends on the tonicity of the neurotransmission which is under a complex physiological regulation; from surface receptors, components of the signalling cascade (G proteins, RGS proteins, enzymes, intracellular messengers, effectors, ionic channels) to the modulation of downstream gene expression and morphological changes in specific brain areas. The main objective of our research is to study the tonus of a variety of signaling proteins (G proteins, RGS protein, protein kinases…) which participate in this cross-talk with the aim of detecting alterations affecting both the glutamatergic transmission and GPCR function.