Mariotti Letizia
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Research scientist
c/o Complesso Biologico Interdipartimentale
A. Vallisneri
Viale Giuseppe Colombo 3
35121 Padova
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Research Summary
Astrocyte-neuron communication for goal-oriented actions
Whether it is to grab a cup of coffee or to hit a tennis ball we need to design and execute spatially accurate motor plans to match our goals. In the animal kingdom mammals move their eyes, nose, whiskers to explore their surroundings and interact with targets. These actions are called orienting behaviours which require the ability to use sensory information to localise the body in space, evaluate the relative position of targets, and finally execute the intended goal-oriented action.
My research combines imaging in freely-moving animals with behavioural tasks to investigate the contribution of astrocyte-neuron interactions to the selection of movement vectors to orient towards salient stimuli in different circuits of the midbrain and hippocampus.
Oriented behaviors in diseases of cognitive impairment
In addition, I study pathological alterations within circuits governing spatial orienting actions and spatial memory in mouse models of cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease. Using cutting-edge techniques, I aim at dissecting the role of astrocyte-neuron communication to identify novel therapeutic targets and possibly revert these circuit alterations.
Representative publications
*Masullo, L., *Mariotti, L., Alexandre, N., Freire-Pritchett, P., Boulanger, G., Tripodi M. Genetically defined functional modules for spatial orienting in the mouse superior colliculus. Current Biology, 2019
Mariotti, L., Tripodi, M. Looking at synaptic specificity from a different angle. Neuron, 2019
*Mariotti, L., *Losi, G., Lia, A., Melone, M., Chiavegato, A., Gómez-Gonzalo, M., Sessolo, M., Bovetti, S., Forli, A., Zonta, M., Requie, L.M., Marcon, I., Pugliese, A., Viollet, C., Bettler, B., Fellin, T., Conti, F., Carmignoto, G. Interneuron-specific signaling evokes distinctive somatostatin-mediated responses in adult cortical astrocytes. Nature Communications, 2018
Ciabatti, E., Gonzalez-Rueda, A., Mariotti, L., Morgese, F., Tripodi M. Life-long genetic and functional access to neural circuits using self-inactivating rabies virus. Cell, 2017
Mariotti, L., Losi, G., Sessolo, M., Marcon, I., Carmignoto, G. The inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA evokes long-lasting Ca2+ oscillations in cortical astrocytes. Glia, 2016