Synapses as therapeutic targets for autism spectrum disorders: an international symposium held in pavia on july 4th, 2014

Paolo Curatolo; Yehezkel Ben-Ari; Yuri Bozzi; Maria Vincenza Catania; Egidio D'Angelo; Lisa Mapelli; Lindsay M Oberman; Christian Rosenmund; Enrico Cherubini

doi:10.3389/fncel.2014.00309

Synapses as therapeutic targets for autism spectrum disorders: an international symposium held in pavia on july 4th, 2014

Front Cell Neurosci. 2014 Sep 29:8:309. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2014.00309. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Paolo Curatolo¹, Yehezkel Ben-Ari², Yuri Bozzi³, Maria Vincenza Catania⁴, Egidio D'Angelo⁵, Lisa Mapelli⁶, Lindsay M Oberman⁷, Christian Rosenmund⁸, Enrico Cherubini⁹

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Tor Vergata University , Rome , Italy.
² Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Mediterranean Institute of Neurobiology (INMED) , Marseille , France.
³ CNR Neuroscience Institute and Laboratory of Molecular Neuropathology, Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento , Trento , Italy.
⁴ CNR, Institute of Neurological Sciences (ISN) , Catania , Italy ; Laboratory of Neurobiology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Oasi Maria SS , Troina , Italy.
⁵ Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia , Pavia , Italy ; Brain Connectivity Center, Neurological Institute Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Mondino , Pavia , Italy.
⁶ Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia , Pavia , Italy.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University , Providence, RI , USA.
⁸ Neuroscience Research Center and NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin , Berlin , Germany.
⁹ International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) , Trieste , Italy ; European Brain Research Institute (EBRI) , Rome , Italy.

Abstract

New progresses into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have been discussed in 1 day international symposium held in Pavia (Italy) on July 4th, 2014 entitled "synapses as therapeutic targets for autism spectrum disorders" (satellite of the FENS Forum for Neuroscience, Milan, 2014). In particular, world experts in the field have highlighted how animal models of ASDs have greatly advanced our understanding of the molecular pathways involved in synaptic dysfunction leading sometimes to "synaptic clinical trials" in children.

Keywords: ASDs; GABAergic signaling; animal models; synapse; therapeutic target.

Publication types

Review