Workshop “The Synaptic Dimension of Brain Disorders”

Posted by Joaquín Torreblanca, on 14 June 2021

This workshop belongs to the series “Current Trends in Biomedicine”, organized by the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía (UNIA).

More information and application at https://www.unia.es/biomedicine

The synapse is the fundamental information-processing unit of the brain, and has recently been shown to lie at the root of a wide range of brain disorders. The recent explosion of large–scale genomics research has opened the door to investigate complex genetic disorders, including neurologic and psychiatric conditions. These studies have shown that genes coding for synaptic proteins accumulate many pathogenic mutations in conditions as different as Alzheimer’s Disease, Schizophrenia, Intellectual Disability or Autism Spectrum Disorders. This wealth of evidence has prompt the scientific community to coin the term ‘Synaptopathy’ to refer to brain disorders in which synaptic dysfunction has a primer pathological role. Understanding the cellular and molecular basis of synaptic dysfunction could therefore lead to the discovery of new therapeutic approaches for many brain disorders, which otherwise lack specific treatments. The purpose of this workshop is to present the most relevant and recent advances in the study of synaptic dysfunction in the context of brain disorders. In this workshop we aim to bring together leading scientists in the growing field of ‘synaptopathies’, to hear about their latest discoveries, have fruitful discussions and foster future far-reaching international scientific collaborations.