Workshop on NMDAR Hypofunction

On December 9th and 10th, we organized the workshop “NMDAR Hypofunction at the Crossroads of Psychosis and Cognition: Insights from Schizophrenia and Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis” at the Esther Koplowitz Centre at IDIBAPS. The meeting was organized by Josep Dalmau (La Caixa Research Institute/IDIBAPS), Gisella Sugranyes (IDIBAPS) and Albert and Jaime from the BCB lab. It brought together international researchers working in molecular psychiatry, immunology, and cognitive neuroscience to discuss the role of NMDA receptor dysfunction in cognition and disease.

Over the two days, we had exciting discussions about the neural circuits involved in psychosis, the immune mechanisms affecting NMDA receptor function, and the cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia and anti-NMDAR encephalitis. The talks generated a lot of interaction and debate, highlighting how closely connected these two disorders may be at the biological level.

Junior researchers also played an important role in the workshop through poster sessions, which created a great environment for exchanging ideas and starting new collaborations.

From the BCB lab, Albert presented our recent work on working memory attraction biases and how these processes are altered in both anti-NMDAR encephalitis and schizophrenia patients. Carles moderated a very interesting session on the role of NMDAR in Working Memory. We were also very happy that former BCB lab member Tíffany Oña, now at the Allen Institute in Seattle, could join remotely to present work originally developed in the lab. You can see the entire program here.

Overall, the workshop was a great success, both scientifically and socially, and reinforced the importance of studying neuropsychiatric disorders through the lens of specific biological mechanisms such as NMDA receptor dysfunction.