CV Science

Olivier Pascual PhD Physiology

Course and current status

Since 2016
INSERM permanent investigator (CR1)
Institut NeuroMyoGène (INMG)
Equipe SynatAC (J Honnorat)
8 Avenue Rockefeller
69008 Lyon (France)


From 2012 to 1015
INSERM permanent investigator (CR1)
Neuroscience Research Center Lyon
(France)

From 2005 to 2012
INSERM permanent investigator (CR1)
Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris
(France)

From 2002 to 2005 
Post doctoral Fellow with Phil Haydon 
University of Pennsylvania (USA) 

Education 
2002 PhD of Physiology at University Claude Bernard Lyon
1999 Master degree University Claude Bernard Lyon

Scientific Interests

Neuron Glia interaction
Synaptic transmission
Autoimmmune disease
Encephalitis 
Auto-antibodies


Other
Member of the Scientific board for the Two-photon plateforme
Member of the French Glial Cell Club
 
Societies
American Society for Neuroscience
French Society for Neuroscience
French Glial Cell Club
 

Scientific summary

Gliotransmission defines the modulation of neuronal activity by the active release of transmitters such as ATP, glutamate, D-serine and GABA by glial cells (Ben Achour and Pascual, 2010). A significant amount of evidences indicate that modulations of astrocytic gliotransmission impact various vegetative and cognitive functions such as sleep homeostatsis, memory and ventilation (Ben Achour and Pascual, 2012). Astrocytes a sub type of glial cells, have been particularly studied but the gliotransmitter release mechanisms are still controversial.

We have recently described a modulation of astrocytic gliotransmission by microglia another type of glial cells during inflammation (Pascual et al., 2012). Our goal is to better understand the communication between microglia, astrocytes and neuron and to determine how the phenotypic changes of glial cells associated to most brain diseases affects gliotransmission.

To do so we rely on live transgenic animals models, imaging and electrophysiological approaches.

Follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/O_Pascual_lab