PRE2023-Mapping the ventromedial prefrontal cortex-raphe nuclei network underlying mood disorders in Parkinson's disease to identify novel therapeutic circuits (MoodPD)-PID2022-141700OB-I00

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often experience depression and anxiety, with a higher incidence in women than in men. Addressing these non-motor symptoms has not been the focus of PD research, although psychiatric symptoms can be just as disruptive for patients and families as the motor aspects of the disease. Therefore, the main goal of our research is to hopefully identify novel therapeutic brain circuits and mechanisms underlying depression in PD. We propose the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)- raphe nuclei (RN) circuitry as the key player to work on, by virtue of its reciprocal connectivity supported by recent neuroimaging and neuropathological studies pointing to structural and functional alterations in this network linked to neuropsychiatric symptomatology in PD. MoodPD project will attempt to obtain new evidence from postmortem human brain samples and mouse models of α-synucleinopathy to better understand how (dys)connectivity of brain circuits controlling emotional functions may be a causal factor in PD. The results from this project will lay the groundwork for new drugs and therapies that target the specific circuits identified. To achieve this, we will use transcriptomics, neuroimaging, ephy plus optogenetic, and behavioral procedures. The candidate will join our research group while completing his/her studies towards obtaining a PhD degree in Neuroscience from University of Barcelona.