MCS will study neuromodulatory mechanisms in Autism Spectrum Disorders

autisme
The MCS (Medicinal Chemistry & Synthesis) group from the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC) has obtained the recommendation for funding the project by the ERA-NET NEURON 2017 call on "Synaptic dysfunction in disorders of the central nervous system".

23/11/2017

The project "Amygdala synaptic neuromodulatory mechanisms and role of mGlu4 in Autism Spectrum Disorders" is one of the 26 projects that the Panel of the ERA-NET NEURON 2017 has recommended for funding, from a total of 43 full proposals submitted to this transnational call.

The purpose of this research project is to investigate the function and therapeutic potential of the glutamate receptor type 4 (mGlu4) in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Particularly, the project aims at expanding the knowledge about the molecular, synaptic and network mechanisms in the brain that underlie ASD, as well as the beneficial effects of mGlu4 activation on autistic symptoms. This research may pave the way for the development of new classes of drugs that can provide more effective treatments.

The project is coordinated by Dr. Cyril Goudet, from Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle (IGF-CNRS-INSERM-Université de Montpellier, France). It also counts, in addition to the MCS group (Medicinal Chemistry & Synthesis), on the participation of Dr. Ingrid Ehrlich from Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany), and Dr. Julie Le Merrer from Unité Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements - Déficit de Récompense, GPCR et Sociabilité (DRuGS) (INRA-CNRS-Université François-Rabelais, Tours, France).