Angelo Contarino

Biography

 Angelo Contarino obtained his first doctorate in medicine in 1992 and a second in pharmacology in 1996 at the University of Padua, on the subject of "Sensitization to the rewarding effects of opiate drugs" . He completed his postdoctoral internship from 1997 to 2000 at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California under the direction of Lisa Gold and George Koob. In 2004, he obtained a post of lecturer at the University Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, finally integrating in January 2011 the team of Martine Cador "Neuropsychopharmacology of addiction" at the Institute of Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine (INCIA ), University of Bordeaux and UMR CNRS 5287. Angelo Contarinois also the initiative of the annual "Nutrition & Neurosciences" Symposium, which takes place every year at the Institut Magendie. Research Summary Opiate dependence is a chronic, relapsing disorder with a major impact on public health. The most stressful signs and symptoms of opiate withdrawal syndrome are key clinical features of opiate dependence that might strongly contribute to impulsive / compulsive drug-seeking and loss of control upon drug-taking. The CRF system coordinates behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stressors. Using CRF receptor pathways, CRF1 and CRF2, in the opiate withdrawal syndrome. Indeed, genetic inactivation of CRF1 receptors eliminates dysphoria-like states but dramatically worsens the somatic signs and the ability to cope with the stress of opiate withdrawal.

Research Interest

 Neurology