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I graduated with an MSc. in Biology and Natural Science from the University of Palermo (Italy) and moved to the “Mario Negri Sud” Institute, for my PhD in Neuroscience. My doctoral research investigated on the role of serotonin in the modulation of the central dopaminergic system. I furthered my study as a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. B. Bunney at Yale University, Psychiatry Department, USA. Currently, I am a Senior Lecturer in Human Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (University of Palermo). My research focuses on a variety of neurological and mental disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, depression and drugs of abuse. In 2007, I moved to the Crunelli group in the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University as a visiting scientist to learn in vitro electrophysiological techniques, specifically whole-cell patch clamp.
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I am currently exploring the potential role of dopamine and serotonin in phasic and tonic GABA-A receptor mediated inhibition in the thalamus and cortex using in vitro patch clamp and in vivo EEG and neuronal recording in freely moving animals. The project investigates the effect of these monoamines under physiological and pathological conditions such as sleep and absence epilepsy using knockout mice, genetically prone rats and other pharmacological models of this disease.
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