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Prof. Dr. Ivan Manzini

Research interests

The research activities of my group primarily focus on developmental, molecular, cell biological and behavioral aspects of the olfactory system of the African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis. The olfactory system is an ideal model to study a neuronal network in its integrity - from the sensory transduction to the control of the behavior. We investigate the basic principles of information processing and plasticity in the olfactory network. We also employ the olfactory network as an in vivo model to investigate basic mechanisms that regulate the dynamics of neuronal development (from neuronal stem cells to mature neurons), and to study signaling pathways that regulate neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, neuronal degeneration and regeneration.