Research fellow

Alessandro Piva is a Senior Research Fellow at the Neuropsychopharmacology laboratory (neuroPsiLab) of Professor Cristiano Chiamulera at the University of Verna. He obtained a Master's Degree in Neuroscience at the University of Trieste, with a thesis on the development, production and study of the activity of recombinant isophromas of the neurotrophic factor BDNF on hippocampal and cortical neurons. During his PhD in Pharmacology, obtained at the University of Verona, his research focused on the study of maladaptive memories involved in food and nicotine addictions, and on the possible specific inhibition of such memories through the administration of amnesic agents. The study of drug addiction continued over the years as a Research Fellow, with particular attention to ketamine and its dual activity as a new generation psychotropic and atidepressant substance. In recent years, scientific interests have also involved the effects of environmental enrichment on relapse to drug addiction. he is currently engaged in the study of the neurocognitive effects induced by the administration of extracts of plant origin. His works have been presented at scientific conferences (Addiction 2022, MNS Conference 2019, FENS 2016) and published in national and international peer-reviewed scientific journals (Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Current Opinion in Pharmacology, Molecular Neurobiology, Psychopharmacology). He has worked as a reviewer for international scientific journals (Pharmacological Research, Molecular Neurobiology, Neuroscience, Scientific Reports).