The existence of in vivo neuroimaging methods such as positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, optical and ultrasound imaging have been indispensable for early diagnosis, in monitoring disease progression and therapy of a wide range of brain diseases such as stroke and brain hemorrhage. The inflammatory response is a major factor in neurovascular pathophysiology and contributes to secondary neuronal damage in both acute and chronic stages of the ischemic injury. Recent work in experimental cerebral ischemia has demonstrated the involvement of neurotransmitter signaling in the modulation of neuroinflammation, providing evidence of the role of neurotransmission receptors as a promising inflammatory biomarkers in neurovascular research. Therefore, our main goal is to evaluate the therapeutic potential and diagnostic perspectives of cannabinoid, cholinergic, purinergic and glutamatergic receptors and transporters in experimental stroke using non-invasive molecular imaging technologies. Besides, we are also interested in to visualize and quantify biological processes (i) during acute phase of ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage as metalloproteinase activity, oxidative stress, brain perfusion and cell death at the cellular/molecular level and (ii) affecting sub-acute phases as angiogenesis and brain function recovery.

This research will foster the emergence of new therapeutic strategies that may recognize and modulate the inflammatory response after neurovascular pathologies. Finally, the knowledge derived from this research could be easily applied to other neurologic and neurodegenerative diseases.