Cell Adhesion Molecules in Synapse Assembly

Team leader O. Thoumine (DR CNRS)

Our interdisciplinary team ( ~10 people) is combining a wide range of methodological approaches, including biomimetic assays, computer simulations, single molecule imaging, electrophysiology, and optogenetics, to decipher the role of adhesion molecules in growth cone migration and synapse assembly.

We specifically focus on the mechanical coupling between N-cadherin adhesion and the actin flow in growth cones, and the function of the neurexin-neuroligin complex in excitatory synapse differentiation.