Basic and Clinical Neuroscience

Summary:

The Basic and Clinical Neuroscience (NBC) research group, a part of the School of Life Sciences (FCVN), primarily focuses on studying the nervous system in both health and disease states. This interdisciplinary team comprises professionals with extensive experience in basic and/or clinical fields such as psychology, psychopharmacology, neuropsychology, neurobiology, nursing, medicine, sports sciences, psychopedagogy, and behavioral sciences methodology. Adopting a translational approach, these professionals from diverse disciplines collaborate to comprehend the molecular and cellular foundations of behavior. They also explore new therapeutic targets in various nervous system diseases, enabling the translation of their research findings into clinical applications.

Research Lines:

• Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychobiology: This area seeks to understand the relationship between behavior and the functioning of the nervous system. It involves studying the neurophysiological bases underlying behavior in different animal species, primarily rodents and humans. The focus is on elucidating their similarities and differences in information processing, with a particular emphasis on learning, perception, and memory processes.
• Neuropsychology: This field is focused on studying new tools and intervention programs for treating cognitive, behavioral, and emotional disorders in various diseases of the nervous system, such as neurodegenerative diseases, anxiety, depression, and drug addiction.
• Psychopharmacology and Drugs of Abuse: This translational study area explores new pharmacological therapeutic targets in different mental disorders, with a special emphasis on substance use disorders. It also considers the study of drug use and its relationship with other risk behaviors and their effects on health.
• Effects of Dysbiosis, Intestinal Permeability, and Inflammation on the Brain: Through studies conducted in both rodents and humans, this area explores the bidirectional communication in the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Specifically, it investigates the alterations of the microbiota, intestinal permeability, and inflammation and their relationship with different diseases of the nervous and gastrointestinal systems. The aim is to provide new therapeutic tools based on the use of probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics for treating these pathologies.
• Brain Fog and Chemobrain: In this line of research, different therapeutic tools are investigated, such as neuropsychological and those based on the intestinal microbiota, to address the cognitive alterations present in many patients affected by a wide range of diseases, such as COVID-19, gastrointestinal diseases, chronic pain, different neuropsychiatric disorders, or chemotherapy treatment (chemobrain).
• Health Promotion and Quality of Life / Quality of Life in Chronic Pathology: This area studies different types of non-pharmacological interventions, such as diet, exercise, cognitive training, probiotics, prebiotics, etc., for promoting quality of life and healthy aging. There is a particular interest in the usefulness of these therapeutic tools in patients who suffer from a mental disorder or chronic pathology, such as neurodegenerative diseases.
• Simulation and Innovation in Health Areas: In this line of research, clinical simulation is investigated and explored as an educational tool that favors the acquisition of skills and competencies necessary for the future clinical practice of our students. It is applied to different areas of health, such as psychology, medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, nutrition, and physical activity and sport.