Behavioural and Safety Pharmacology Unit

Via Fossato di Mortara 17-19 - 44121 FERRARA

Sezione: Farmaco e Prodotti della Salute

Responsible: Matteo Marti

Collaborators: Andrea Ossato, Isabella Canazza

Affiliations:

Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology (SVeB), University of Ferrara, Italy

Center for Neuroscience and Istituto Nazionale di Neuroscienze, Italy

Collaborative Center for the Italian National Early Warning System, Department of Anti-Drug Policies, Presidency of the Council of Ministers

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Our laboratory is specialized in preclinical behavioural studies. In particular, we investigated the effects of Novel Psychoactive Substances, using a battery of behavioral tests widely used in studies of "safety-pharmacology" for the preclinical characterization of new molecules in rodents.

 

Mice were tested throught functional observational tests that evaluate the following parameters:

 

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EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES:

Our high-tech equipment for the study of animal’s behaviour are able to investigate the pharmaco-toxicological profile of any substances.

 

MOTOR FUNCTIONS ANALYSIS: Any-Maze software and Rotarod/Accelerod test.

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SENSORY FUNCTION ANALYSIS (Startle and PPI tests)

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PAIN ANALYSIS (Mechanical and thermal)

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CARDIOVASCULAR AND RESPIRATORY FUNCIONS: BP-2000 Series II and MouseOX Plus Software

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NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS:

  • Italian National Early Warning System, Department of Anti-Drug Policies, Presidency of the Council of Ministers;
    • Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Italy;
    • School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Italy;
      • Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Verona, Italy;
      • Neuroscience and Brain Technologies Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (ITT), Genova, Italy;
      • Public Health Institute, Catholic University of Rome, Italy;
      • Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Medicine and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Italy;
      • NIDA/NIH Biomedical Research Center, Baltimore, USA.

LAST FOUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS:

  • NS-Drugs: Multidisciplinary study of pharmaco-toxicological effects and pathophysiology of New (synthetic) Psychoactive Substances to understand the possible mental and physical alterations in the motor vehicle drivers.

 

  • NPS-Tox: Toxicology study of New Psychoactive Substances (N.P.S.) in animal model according to GLP procedures in the perspective of setting up methods for the evaluation of road accidents associated with N.P.S..

  • INSIDE-018: Preclinical multidisciplinary project for the characterization of acute and chronic effects on central nervous system evoked by JWH-018, a new synthetic cannabinoid.

  • VARD: Project to assess the prevalence of use of date rape drugs, develop and validate sensitive and reliable analytical methods, define procedures and best practices to define technical and scientific guidelines.

  • FIRB 2012- Programma “Futuro in Ricerca”: The abuse/addiction of anabolic and New Psychoactive Substances (Smart Drugs) as a social, health and legal problem. Organ damage in youth sports population: epidemiological evidence, biochemical, pathological, toxicological and control mechanisms.