Abstract

I will present the biochemistry of cannabinoids and endocannabinoids, along with the impact of these lipid signals on the brain. We will discuss advances on the molecular details of signal transduction pathways triggered by (endo)cannabinoids at specific receptor targets, and gain deep insights into the biological consequences of these pathways in distinct psychiatric diseases, in particular via epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

Mauro Maccarrone, Dr. Enzymology and Bio-Organic Chemistry, is Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Co- ordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the School of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome. He is the Director of the Laboratory of Lipid Neurochemistry at the European Center for Brain Research (CERC)/IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy. He was awarded the “4th Royan International Research Award for Reproductive Biomedicine”, the “2007 IACM Award for Basic Research” and the “2016 Mechoulam Award”, and has been Chair of the 2015 Gordon Research Conference on “Cannabinoid Function in the CNS ”. He published more than 485 full papers, of which 55 with I.F. ≥ 9, 12 with I.F. ≥ 15, 45 with ≥ 100 citations (total I.F. > 2470; citations >15760, h-index = 65 according to Scopus). Email ID: m.maccarrone@unicampus.it