In recent years, we have made important contributions to understand how the intracellular membrane trafficking machinery of the neuron controls synaptic plasticity by shuttling neurotransmitter receptors in and out of the synaptic membrane. For example, we have identified different kinesin motors and adaptor proteins that steer endosomal compartments to drive synaptic insertion of neurotransmitter receptors during long-term potentiation or synaptic removal and lysosomal degradation during long-term depression. Additionally, we have made important advances to understand how these processes are integrated within intracellular signaling pathways, both at the synaptic level and by controlling astrocyte-neuron communication. We have also addressed how alterations in these mechanisms lead to cognitive dysfunctions in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease and autism. In the long run, we aim at exploiting this molecular information to develop potential therapeutic avenues for cognitive enhancement that can be tested in mouse models.
Major experimental approaches in the laboratory are electrophysiology, live-cell imaging and behavioral assays, using molecular and genetic manipulations in brain tissue and mouse models. The laboratory has a strong multidisciplinary scope, which we believe is essential for the general goal of understanding how molecular and cellular mechanisms operating at the synapse contribute to brain function in health and disease.