NCCR-Synapsy

The Synaptic Bases of Mental Diseases

Charles Quairiaux awarded by the Swiss League Against Epilepsy

epi-quairieux

The research grant 2017 from the Swiss League Against Epilepsy goes to Dr. Charles Quairiaux, Dr. Abbas Khani and Prof. Christoph Michel of the Department of Basic Neurosciences of the University of Geneva for their project entitled: “Decreasing susceptibility of Read more…


Winners of the Pfizer Prize for Research 2017

Pfizer prize 2017

Alan Carleton, Nixon Abraham, Olivier Gschwend Pfizer Award 2017 – 25 young Swiss researchers were awarded for their outstanding scientific work, including three teams from the HUG and UNIGE. These are two joint HUG/UNIGE teams in clinical research and a Read more…


Better learning through distinguishing

Olfactory bulbs

A study published in the latest issue of Nature Neuroscience describes work led by the University of Geneva’s (UNIGE) Faculties of Medicine and Sciences, on the indisputable role of the olfactory bulb in mammal brains’ ability to discriminate between smells. Read more…


The tragic death of Professor Dominique Muller

Dominique Muller

It is with heavy hearts that we learned that Professor Dominique Muller, Head of the Department of Basic Neurosciences in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva and co-director of the NCCR-Synapsy sadly died after a gliding accident Read more…


A breakthrough in understanding brain-learning processes

plasticity astrocytic

Plasticity of the astrocytic processes (green) around a dendritic spine (red) in a post-synaptic receiving neuron structure transferring a sensory impulse. Professor Dominique Muller, co-director of the NCCR-Synapsy, and his team at the University of Geneva, have discovered a new Read more…


Discovery of a neuronal population that filters sensory information

sensory-olfactory

In the center:”Panache shaped” neurons population sent by olfactory sensory cells. Our five senses collect data for complex perceptual systems in the brain allowing us to make sense of the world around us. The stimuli entering the brain in the Read more…


Neurons switches states to turn on and off learning

switch button

Pico Caroni and his team show how a network of neurons in hippocampus and cortex switches states to turn on and off learning in the adult. They further show how a stimulating environment promotes this switch, and thus learning. Their Read more…


Sense of smell : nose and brain make quite a team… in disconnection

orchid in the brain

Visual retentivity of an orchid in the brain Alan Carleton’s team (UNIGE) has just shown that the representation of an odor evolves after the first breath, and that an olfactory retentivity persists at the central level. This research is published Read more…