First name, Surname: Saturnino Spiga

E-mail: sspiga@unica.it

Education

1986                              Degree in Biological Sciences Institute of Zoology. University of Cagliari, Italy.

2010                              PhD in Morphological and Functional Sciences.  Dept. of Cytomorphology. University of Cagliari.

Position

2002                              Assistant Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Citology (BIO06).

2015-current                Associate Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Citology (BIO06).

Other academic positions

2008- current               Member of the Academic Board of the Doctoral School in"BIOLOGIA E BIOCHIMICA DELL'UOMO E DELL'AMBIENTE" University of  Cagliari

Research Period Abroad

1996                         Short-Term Visiting Researchers,  Brain Research Institute, University of Bremen, Germany

2005 – 2006              Visiting researcher,  Aidekman Research. Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience.  Rutgers The State University of New Jersey (USA).

2011                          Short-Term Visiting Researchers, University of Puerto Rico, S. Juan 

Patents:               

2011                         European Patent Office:  Simultaneous Golgi-Cox and immunofluorescence using confocal microscopy (PD2011A000081)

Scientific Affiliations:

                                       Unione Zoologica Italiana (UZI)

                                       Society for Neuroscience (SFN)

                                       Gruppo Italiano Studio delle Neuroanatomia (G.I.N.S.)

Biographical sketch

The scientific activity of Saturnino Spiga has been, for the most part, in the field of the anatomical basis for neural plasticity on different neuronal systems such as mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway. Since the mesolimbic system is shown to be the most important reward pathway in the brain, heavily implicated in addiction, schizophrenia, depression and Parkinson's Disease. To study aberrant plasticity, his research has been focused on the use of some drugs of abuse that  are able to stimulate the dopaminergic system. In Particular, he has identified changes in morphometrical parameters of mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons after withdrawal from chronic treatments with opioids and cannabinoids. In other studies, he showed the morphological effects of opiates, ethanol, acetaldehyde, ecstasy and cannabinoids in various dopaminoceptive areas (nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex), after chronic administration and withdrawal. Spiga also developed a new method for the simultaneous Golgi-Cox and immunofluorescence staining which has been patented.

H-indexed 52 papers

Scopus code 6701640311