Camilla Bellone facts for kids

Camilla Bellone (born around 1975) is an Italian neuroscientist. She is a professor at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Dr. Bellone studies how the brain controls social behavior, like making friends.

Her laboratory explores how brain cells talk to each other. She wants to understand what happens in the brain when people have difficulty with social interactions. Her work is important for understanding conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Early Life and Education

Camilla Bellone was born in Italy in 1975. She studied pharmacology, the science of how medicines work, at the University of Milan. There, she became fascinated with the brain and all its mysteries. She wanted to learn how this amazing organ works.

In the lab, she first studied the tiny parts of brain cells that allow them to send messages to one another. These connection points are called synapses. She realized she wanted to study not just the parts, but how they work together.

To learn more, she moved to Geneva, Switzerland, to study at the University of Geneva. There, she learned new skills to measure the activity of brain cells. She focused on the brain's "reward system." This is the part of the brain that makes us feel good when we do something we enjoy, like spending time with friends.

Research and Career

Dr. Bellone's research has helped us understand how the brain's reward system can change. After finishing her PhD, she went to the University of California, San Francisco in the United States. There, she studied how the brains of newborn mice develop.

In 2007, she returned to Switzerland to continue her research. She began to lead her own projects and became more independent in her career.

How the Brain Processes Social Rewards

In 2010, Dr. Bellone received a special grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation. This grant helped her start her own research lab. She decided to use her knowledge of the brain's reward system to study something new: social behavior.

She wanted to know how the reward system helps us enjoy being with others. Her lab at the University of Lausanne began to study this system in mice. By understanding how it works normally, she hoped to learn what goes wrong in brain disorders that affect social skills.

In 2016, she moved her lab to the University of Geneva. Her team continues to study the brain circuits for social behavior. They hope their work will lead to a better understanding of conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

Dr. Bellone became interested in the genetics of ASD. She read studies showing that many genes linked to ASD are important for building the connections between brain cells.

Her team created a mouse model to study this. They looked at a protein called Shank3, which helps build brain synapses. When mice had less of this protein in their reward system, they showed less interest in being with other mice.

Dr. Bellone's team found they could restore some of the mice's social interest. They did this by using special techniques to adjust the activity of the brain cells. This research shows a direct link between brain cell connections and social behavior. It offers hope for future ways to help people with social difficulties.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Bellone has received many awards for her important research.

• 2004 Swiss Society for Neuroscience travel fellowship
• 2010 FENS/IBRO travel grant
• 2010 Ambizione grant from Swiss National Science Foundation
• 2012 Gertrude Von Meissner Foundation prize
• 2014 Fondation du Prix Pfizer de la Recherche
• 2014 Professor Boursier Scholarship from Swiss National Science Foundation
• 2014-2018 FENS- KAVLI Scholar
• 2015 FENS-KAVLI network of Excellence