The central nervous system (CNS) of vertebrates is a complex arrangement of neurons and glial cells that underlie brain physiology and animal behavior. These cells are set-up in defined numbers at specific locations from neural progenitors or Neural Stem Cells (NSCs), largely during early stages of life. In addition, the maintenance of NSCs in the brain until adulthood is a general phenomenon, likely crucial to late adaptation events. Indeed, defects in adult neurogenesis have been correlated with neurodegenerative and mood-related disorders, and also occur during ageing.

Within this context, the large-frame perspective of our research program is to understand the molecular integration of NSC biology with the ultimate aspect of brain function: the determination of behavior. To this aim, we focus both on the molecular mechanisms underlying NSC fate during development and adulthood, and on basic features of adult neurogenesis and its impact on behavioral modulation. Our model is the zebrafish, Danio rerio, where adult NSCs are abundant, which stands as an excellent comparative vertebrate model to the mouse, and where we recently identified NSC factors that we can now use as starting point towards dissecting NSC genetic cascades. In addition, we developed assays measuring emotional and cognitive behavior in this species.