Barbara Picconi has been involved in the study of synaptic plasticity alterations in various models of neurodegenerative disorders, in particular in Parkinson's disease (PD), since the early years of her Ph.D. course in neuroscience (2000-2004). In particular, since 2000 her research has been aimed at studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying Parkinsonian symptoms. In 2002, she carried out research at the Neurobiology Laboratory, in the Wallenberg Centre, Lund University (Sweden) under the supervision of Prof. Angela Cenci. Here she learned motor behavioral tests for the characterization of the Parkinsonian and dyskinetic phenotype following chronic treatment with Levodopa (L-DOPA) in experimental models in rodents. Since 2004, thanks to the productive collaboration with the Laboratory of Pharmacological Sciences of the University of Milan (Prof Gardoni), she has characterized the role of alterations in the synaptic localization of NMDA receptors coupled with altered synaptic plasticity in animal models of PD. In March 2018, she was the winner of the Competition for Associate Professor in Physiology (Bio09) and called to cover the position of Professor of the Physo-Biological Nutraceuticals Course at the San Raffaele Telematic University and as head of the Experimental Neurophysiology Laboratory. In March 2022, she was the winner of the competition for the position of Full Professor in Physiology SSD Bio09.
