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BIOLOGY - BIOCHEMISTRY

Department: Basic Sciences 

Laboratory:  Biology - Biochemistry lab 

Director: Associate Professor Antonios Stamatakis, PhD

Laboratory Contact Details

Room / Building

  • Room 2.19/2.20
    Central building of the Department of Nursing
    Papadiamantopoulou 123, 11527 Athens, Greece

General Description

The Biology-Biochemistry lab studies the biological base of behaviour using animal models. More specifically, we investigate the cellular and biochemical effects of early life experiences on the brain of rodents as well as the neurohormonal aspects of maternal behaviour.

Laboratory Staff

Laboratory  Courses (undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum) - taught in the laboratory

Undergraduate Program 

  • Cell Biology- 1st semester of the undergraduate BSc in Nursing 

Postgraduate Program

  • Animal behavioral neuroscience –Graduate course in the “Athens International Graduate Program in Neurosciences”

Infrastructure

  • System for the documentation and analysis of animal behaviour-Noldus
  • Behavioral apparatuses: Morris Water Maze, Startle Response/Reflex System, Fear conditioning, Elevated plus maze, Open field, T-maze, Y-maze
  • Image analysis system connected to a microscope
  • HPLC system
  • PCR
  • DNA and protein electrophoresis system
  • DNA documentation system
  • Cryostat
  • Paraffin microtome
  • System for the production of pure water
  • Cooled centrifuge
  • Incubation chamber
  • Deep freezer

Laboratory Research Activities

  • Effects of an adverse early life experience on prefrontal cortex structure and function in rodents.
  • Effects of mixtures of endocrine distruptors on mouse brain and behaviour- EDC-MixRisk, European Commission DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR RESEARCH & INNOVATION – ΗΟΡΙΖΟΝ 2020
  • Phenotyping and archiving of model mammalian genomes - InfrafrontierGR/ Phenotypos, Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs

Publications

  • Segklia K*, Stamatakis A*, Stylianopoulou F, Lavdas A.A., Matsas R. “Increased Anxiety-Related Behavior, Impaired Cognitive Function and Cellular Alterations in the Brain of Cend1-deficient Mice.” Frontiers Cellular Neuroscience, 12:497, 2019. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00497. * Συγγραφείς με ισότιμη συνεισφορά
  • Diamantopoulou A., Kalpachidou T., Aspiotis G., Gampierakis I., Stylianopoulou F*, Stamatakis A.* “An early experience of mild adversity involving temporary denial of maternal contact affects the serotonergic system of adult male rats and leads to a depressive-like phenotype and inability to adapt to a chronic social stress.” Physiol Behav. 184:46-54. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.11.004, 2018. * Συγγραφείς με ισότιμη συνεισφορά
  • Manatos V., Stylianopoulou F., Stamatakis A. “The levels of the GluN2A NMDA receptor subunit are modified in both the neonatal and adult rat brain by an early experience involving denial of maternal contact.” Neurosci. Lett. 612:98-103. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2015.12.005.
  • Stamatakis A., Manatos V., Kalpachidou T., Stylianopoulou F. “Exposure to a mildly aversive early life experience leads to prefrontal cortex deficits in the rat”, Brain Structure and Function, 221(8):4141-415, DOI: 10.1007/s00429-015-1154-0, 2016.
  • Kalpachidou T, Raftogianni A, Melissa P, Kollia AM, Stylianopoulou F, Stamatakis A. “Effects of a Neonatal Experience Involving Reward Through Maternal Contact on the Noradrenergic System of the Rat Prefrontal Cortex.” Cereb Cortex. 26(9):3866-77. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhv192, 2016.