Institute of Neuroscience (CSIC-UMH)

Institute for Neuroscience (IN). The mission of the IN is to investigate the development, structure and function of the nervous system in normal and pathological conditions. The general objective is to improve the understanding of the healthy brain, in order to shed light on dysfunctions leading to disease. This goal is recognized as the main challenge faced by modern biology.

Research proposals shall cover the following lines:

• General principles underlying the connectivity of specific classes of neurons within defined neural circuits, how these rules emerge during development, and pathological consequences of deviating from the normal developmental programmes.
• Neural activity influence on brain wiring, connectivity alteration by manipulation of neuronal activity, and alter compensation of sensory loss by activity modulation in the spared circuits.
• Brain maturation and behaviour shaping by early stress, intestinal flora and hormones in puberty. Alteration of the neuronal epigenome as a result of these experiences.
• Activity-driven gene expression and chromatin modification influence on brain function, and dynamic modulation of cortical interneurons properties by network activity.
• Synaptic gain of information transfer imposed by the strategic distribution of presynaptic and postsynaptic receptors, and the importance of genes related to synaptic function in brain disease.
• Propagation of the activity of specific populations of cells in long-range neuronal circuits, cellular mechanisms underlying information streams in the brain, and effects of these processes in animal models of psychiatric disorders.

Formation of primary brain tumors and metastases. The potential of cell plasticity in normal development and pathological programmes of adult tissues.