About the Laboratory

Neural plasticity is the ability of nerve cells to permanently change in response to stimuli from the environment. This remarkable property of the nervous system provides the body with the ability to adapt and, above all, underpins learning and memory processes. At the level of the individual nerve cell, plasticity is expressed through the activity of individual synapses, and this in turn depends on the type of proteins synthesised at the synapse in response to stimulation. Some of the proteins present in dendrites and at synapses are synthesised locally on a matrix of mRNAs specifically transported from the cell body. Local translation of synaptic mRNAs provides the ability to rapidly alter synaptic conductance or the morphology of dendritic spikes. This process has been shown to be extremely important for synapse physiology and its disruption leads to disease syndromes such as fragile X syndrome or autism.

The Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory team is conducting research on the identification and analysis of proteins and mRNAs that are locally translated at the synapse in response to a specific type of stimulation. Our research will contribute to our understanding of how the synapse works and which proteins are responsible for its plasticity. Interestingly, we have been able to show that a significant proportion of the proteins synthesised locally at the synapse are mitochodrial proteins. We are currently pursuing projects that will allow us to understand the role of mitochondria and their dysfunction at synapses in neurodevelopmental disorders that co-occur with autism.

We work on mouse models of human diseases in which local translation is impaired, such as broken X chromosome syndrome (Fmr1 KO mice). We use advanced neuronal imaging as well as biochemical methods, molecular biology, next-generation sequencing or high-resolution mass spectrometry.