DYSREGULATED NEURON-ASTROCYTE COOPERATIVE ACTIONS IN NEURONAL HYPERSYNCHRONY AND NEUROVASCULAR COUPLING IN ACQUIRED AND GENETIC MODELS OF EPILEPSY

Epilepsies affect about 3% of the population worldwide and are among the most common and socially onerous brain diseases. Approximately 30% of the patients suffering from a genetic or acquired form of epilepsy are not cured by the currently available drugs and develop a severe disease that yields neurological, relational and social complications. A branch of epilepsy research is devoted to the study of the mechanisms that precipitate a seizure. This approach is applied to genetic as well as acquired epilepsies and represents the main strategy for the development of new anti-epileptic compounds. In the last decade it has been demonstrated that cerebral activity is controlled by the tuned interaction between neurons, glial cells and cerebral vessels. The research project aims at studying these interactions and their role in the generation of epileptiform activity and seizures, by studying diverse experimental models of epilepsy and seizures. The understanding of the mechanism of seizure generation by glia (and in particular astroglia) and brain vessels is of paramount relevance to develop new therapeutic strategies of human epilepsies, either genetic or acquired.