Our team is interested in the actions of steroids in the nervous system, with particular emphasis in their neuroprotective effects. Neuroactive steroids include hormonal steroids, such as estradiol, and steroids locally synthesized by neural cells.

Estudio de la neurobiologia de la enfermedad de Parkinson y el sistema dopaminérgico. Desarrollo de protocolos de trasplante de neuronas dopaminérgicas derivadas de IPs humanas en modelos animales para su posible traslación a terapias celulares en la Enfermedad de Parkinson

The laboratory is interested in the role played by IGFs in the adult brain. Knowledge of the biology of these growth factors will help us understand the physiology of neuroprotective processes to mimic or potentiate them with new drugs. Using this approach we have described new neuroprotective mechanisms and novel druggable targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

Javier DeFelipe’s laboratory has an extensive experience in the analysis on the microorganization of the cerebral cortex using various techniques (intracellular injections, histochemical and immunocytochemical techniques for light and electron microscopy, 3D reconstruction methods). In 1991, he began studies of normal human cerebral cortex and epileptic patients. In parallel, since 2006, he progressed on the study of Alzheimer's disease. In 2009, he started the participation in the Blue Brain project.

The goal of our laboratory is to understand the normal and pathological function of microcircuits of the hippocampal and para-hippocampal regions. In particular, we are interested in the mechanisms underlying diverse forms of neuronal activity, from immature population bursting to hippocampal rhythms and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). We use a combination of electrophysiological, morphological and computational approaches.

The general work topic of Dr. Nieto Sampedro during the past 35 years has being the study of the molecular bases of neural plasticity and the possibility of using neural plasticity in the functional repair of the injured central nervous system (CNS).

The coding and processing of information in the CNS is based on the synchronous activity of neuron assemblies interconnected in a complex network of synaptic chains. Such activity can be recorded as rapid fluctuations in local field potentials (LFPs), a mesoscopic variable similar to electroencephalographic recordings that is on the intracerebral site of generation. LFPs allow access to population dynamics with full time resolution, unequaled by sophisticated and expensive modern techniques. However, theoretical and practical problems have prevented an efficient use of LFPs for decades.

Functional and molecular studies of normal and pathological synapses

Study of central and peripheral markers of neurodegenerative diseases. The research group work deals with the study of both the normal and the pathological involution markers of the Central Nervous System (neuronal and glial central biomarkers as well peripheral ones) in order to explain the pathogeny of neurodegenerative disorders and to open new therapeutical lines. Studies are carried out in a multidisciplinary approach, using morphological, histochemical and biochemical methods.

The research of our group is focused on studying the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms involved in three fundamental processes: 1) the differentiation and maturation of human neurons and astrocytes obtained from iPSCs derived from healthy subjects; 2) the alterations of these events that could result in neurodevelopmental disorders, and that could also underlie early steps in the etiology of Parkinson¿s disease (PD) and Alzheimer¿s disease (AD); and 3) the neurodegenerative processes in PD and AD, and the search for new mechanisms and molecular targets in iPSC-derived neurons and gli