About me

0000-0002-2005-9793

Research Interest

Our research interest aims at understanding the function and dysfunction of brain endocannabinoid system in neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions, with a special emphasis in myelin diseases. Our specific research goals include the study of:

• Oligodendroglia endocannabinoid system in myelin damage and repair
• Endocannabinoid dependent-synaptic dysfunction in mouse models of Multiple Sclerosis
• Role and therapeutic potential of MAGL and ABHD6 in the treatment myelin diseases
• Therapeutic potential of CB₁ receptor antagonists in Fragile X Syndrome

My project "Evaluating the Therapeutic Potential of Endocannabinoid Hydrolysis Inhibitors in Myelin Diseases" is funded and supported by The Walk On Project Foundation

Experimental Approaches

• In vivo and in vitro models of myelin damage and regeneration (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis/EAE, cuprizone administration,  excitotoxicity in primary oligodendrocyte cultures)
• Electrophysiology in brain slices (extracellular field recording, patch-clamp in visualized cells)
• Imaging (calcium imaging in cultured cells, confocal microscopy-based imaging)
• Biochemistry (receptor and [³⁵S]GTP? autoradiography, quantitative PCR, western blot)

Collaborators

• Benjamin F. Cravatt (Pharmacological and genetic tools for ABHD6 blockade/The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA)
• Beat Lutz (Transgenic mouse models for the study of CB1 receptors/Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany)
• Frank Kirchhoff (Transgenic mouse models for the study of oligodendrocytes and their precursors/University of Saarland, Homburg, Germany)
• Olivier Manzoni (Striatal synaptic pathology in demyelination/Mediterranean Institute of Neurobiology, Marseille, France)
• Carlos Matute (Mechanisms of white matter damage and repair/University of the Basque Country UPV-EHU, Leioa, Spain)
• Andrés Ozaita (Neurobiology of CB1 receptors Fragile X Syndrome/Universidad Pompeu Fabra/Barcelona, Spain)