Mauro Costa-mattioli PhD

Mauro Costa-Mattioli, Ph.D Complementary lines of research. The first one, more traditional but very important, aims at unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying memory formation (e.g., using state-of-the-art molecular and cell-specific genetic approaches). Learning and memory disorders can strike the brain during development (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorders and Down Syndrome), as well as during adulthood (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease). We are interested in understanding the specific circuits and molecular pathways that are primarily targeted in these disorders and how they can be restored.

To tackle these questions, we use a multidisciplinary, convergent and cross-species approach that combines mouse and fly genetics, molecular biology, electrophysiology, stem cell biology, optogenetics and behavioral techniques.

The second line of research, more recent and relatively unexplored, is focused on understanding how gut microbes control CNS driven-behavior and brain function. Our recent discoveries that microbes in the gut could modulate brain function and behavior in a very powerful way, have added a whole new dimension to the classic view of how complex behaviors are controlled.