Igor Branchi

Igor Branchi is Researcher and Group leader at the Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità/Italian Institute of Health, Rome, Italy and visiting Professor of Behavioral biology at the University of Rome Sapienza. He is President of the European Brain and Behaviour Society. His main research interest is on the application of an integrative approach, spanning from epigenetics to behavior and the living environment, to investigate the neural bases of psychiatric disorders and the relative therapeutic strategies. He is also interested in complexity science and philosophical considerations on the effectiveness of scientific approaches aimed at understanding the central nervous system and bridging brain and behavior. Current efforts are directed towards the study of the interplay between neural and behavioral plasticity and contextual factors, such as stress and the quality of living conditions. Special attention is paid to drug x environment interactions. Although much of his work has been so far on preclinical models, he is now also involved in clinical investigations aimed at exploring the efficacy of treatments and conditions affecting plasticity, such as antidepressant and anti-inflammatory drugs, in relation to environmental factors.