Postdoctoral Research Associate
Biography
I graduated in Clinical Psychology in 2017 at the University of Bologna, where in 2020 I obtained my PhD in Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, working in the laboratory of “Autonomic and Behavioural Physiology” led by Prof. Roberto Amici, and where I also carried out a year of postdoc, studying central nervous regulation and physiological alterations of natural and synthetic torpor. I joined the Center for Sleep and Consciousness at the University of Wisconsin – Madison under the supervision of Prof. Chiara Cirelli in 2021. I work on testing the Synaptic Homeostasis Hypothesis (SHY) by performing ultrastructural studies using the serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBEM).
Research Interests: Neurophysiology, Neuroanatomy, Neuropsychology, Sleep, Consciousness, Torpor, Hibernation.
Selected Publications
Hitrec T., Squarcio F., Cerri M., Martelli D., Occhinegro A., Piscitiello E., Tupone D., Amici R., Luppi M. (2021). Reversible Tau phosphorylation induced by synthetic torpor in the spinal cord of the rat. Frontiers in Neuroanatomy. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2021.592288
Luppi, M., Hitrec, T., Di Cristoforo, A., Squarcio, F., Stanzani, A., Occhinegro, A., Chiavetta, P., Tupone, D., Zamboni, G., Amici, R., & Cerri, M. (2019). Phosphorylation and Dephosphorylation of Tau Protein During Synthetic Torpor. Frontiers in Neuroanatomy, 13, 57. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2019.00057
Tinganelli, W., Hitrec, T., Romani, F., Simoniello, P., Squarcio, F., Stanzani, A., Piscitiello, E., Marchesano, V., Luppi, M., Sioli, M., Helm, A., Compagnone, G., Morganti, A. G., Amici, R., Negrini, M., Zoccoli, A., Durante, M., & Cerri, M. (2019). Hibernation and radioprotection: Gene expression in the liver and testicle of rats irradiated under synthetic torpor. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20020352
Hitrec, T., Luppi, M., Bastianini, S., Squarcio, F., Berteotti, C., Lo Martire, V., Martelli, D., Occhinegro, A., Tupone, D., Zoccoli, G., Amici, R., & Cerri, M. (2019). Neural control of fasting-induced torpor in mice. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51841-2