NCCR-Synapsy

The Synaptic Bases of Mental Diseases

Public Lecture – Alan Carleton

public conference

June-3 Public lecture by Professor Alan Carleton as part of his promotion to full professor in the Department of Fundamental Neurosciences Title : «Neural circuit symphony vs. cacophony in health and disease» LOCATION UNIGE – Centre Médical Universitaire (CMU) Auditoire Read more…


Resynchronizing neurons to erase schizophrenia

Carleton_re-synch

By increasing the excitability of a subpopulation of “defective” inhibitory neurons, researchers at the UNIGE restore the synchronization of neural networks in the hippocampus, and are thus able to suppress certain behavioural symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia, an often severe Read more…


Astrocytes are involved in personality disorders

A new Study conducted by the Synapsy researcher Paola Bezzi and published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry shows that neuronal development in the prefrontal cortex and associated cognitive processes, depend on the proper functioning astrocytes. Paola Bezzi and her Read more…


Unraveling the biological function of a 22q11 locus gene

Aude Chenu-Molinard

Synapsy researchers reveal the developmental function of a new schizophrenia (SZ) risk-gene. The candidate SZ-risk gene DGCR2 is located in the 22q11.2 locus, whose deletion is a major risk factor for SZ. In a recent paper published in Biological Psychiatry, Aude Molinard-Chenu, former MD-PhD Read more…


Portrait : 5 questions for Thomas Marissal

Thomas Marissal portrait

Thomas Marissal was born in Carpentras, France. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in neurobiology from the University of Aix-Marseille. Thomas subsequently completed a doctoral thesis under the supervision of professors Yehezkel Ben-Ari and Rosa Cossart Read more…


Re-orchestrating neural networks to counter schizophrenia

Parvalbumin neurons

A three-level study of the synaptic structure, neural network and behavior is particularly helpful for understanding neuropsychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia and patients with 22q11 microdeletion. The structural properties of neurons at the synaptic scale influence their effective and functional connectivity. Read more…


Portrait : 5 questions for Maria Padula

Maria Padula portrait

Maria Padula studied biology at the University of Salento Lecce in Italy before obtaining a master’s degree in neurobiology at the University of Pisa. Maria joined Stephan Eliez’s group in 2013 for her PhD thesis in Neurosciences, which she obtained Read more…


Highlight psychiatry clinical cohort : Perceiving schizophrenia

percieving shcizophrenia diagram

One in every 100 children develops schizophrenia in adulthood. But how can we know which children? Brain-imaging studies performed on the 22q11ds at-risk population provide some preliminary answers. In Switzerland, as elsewhere, one per cent of the general population develops Read more…


The 22q11DS cohort reaches maturity

Stephan Eliez portrait

As Synapsy is addressing 22q11 deletion syndrome and schizophrenia in its seventh Newsletter, the 22q11 cohort is reaching maturity, poised to deliver the fruits of a successful synergy between clinical work and fundamental research. Synapsy looks back at the origins Read more…