One of the big tasks in neurobiology is to understand how a neuronal cell can store previous experience and change its output accordingly: the basis of learning and memory. A crucial contribution comes from regulated local protein synthesis in the dendrites and axons of the neuronal cell.

 

To understand how this process contributes to learning and memory processes, three broad questions have to be addressed:

My lab has extensively studied the molecular basis of the Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), which is caused by the absence of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein, FMRP.

FMRP is implicated in mRNA metabolism at synapses, and the study of the protein and of its mRNA offers a major inroad into the understanding of the learning and memory processes. We will use this approach further to obtain a complete understanding of the regulation of synaptic protein synthesis. Finally, Autistic Spectrum Disorder is linked to the Fragile X Syndrome; in fact, FXS is the monogenic Syndrome with the highest incidence of Autism.

 

Both the Fragile X Syndrome and Autism are still without an effective cure. We will therefore use the knowledge obtained from these lines of research to identify, in collaboration with clinical researchers, possible pharmacological approaches and strategies.