17th International Conference of the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa Marrakesh-Morocco April, 17-20, 2025

Title: Neurological disorders caused by Mediterranean pollutants
Organizer: Marc Landry
PsyCoMed Project: University of Bordeaux, IMN CNRS UMR 5293, 146 Rue Leo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux, France
email: marc.landry@u-bordeaux.fr

Abstract:

Pollutants in African countries and the Mediterranean area are increasing threats for health. Their neurological consequences need to be described and their mechanisms of action deciphered to objectively determined their potential risks. This symposium will consider the effects on the nervous system of two types of very common pollutants which can persist in the environment for months or years. Glyphosate is the most widely common herbicide in the world, making its intensive use a major environmental and health problem. Nanoplastics are accumulating in different organs and may interfere with their normal biological functions. Prenatal exposure to glyphosate provokes neurotoxic effects due to oxidative stress and massive neuronal apoptosis in the developing brain, causing lifelong behavioral abnormalities. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuropeptide with important neurotrophic and neuroprotective functions. Dr Said Galai's presentation focuses on the capacity of intra-nasally injected PACAP in rats to protect the brain of offspring exposed in utero to glyphosate against oxidative damage and cellular neurotoxicity. Dr Ait Bali's research in rats revealed that glyphosate increases anxiety, reduces serotonergic fibers, and causes neuronal hyperactivation in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Additionally, glyphosate exposure leads to gut microbiome dysbiosis, which coincided with the anxiety-like behaviors. These findings suggest a link between GBH neurotoxicity and both gut-brain axis disruption and anxiety. Zineb Bouargane was interested in the capacity of nanoplastics to cross the blood brain barrier while it is not completely closed, during gestation. Their results in rats indicate that nanoplastics intake induces changes in the pups that results in impairment of normal behavior during adulthood. The recent high rise in the prevalence of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) has been linked to possible pollutant effects. Prof Landry's team worked on the mechanisms underlying ADHD and its comorbid pain sensitization. They have used high-throughput methods to highlight signaling pathways dysregulated in these interacting neuropsychiatric disorders.

Speakers

Number	Speaker	e-mail	Title of  the communication
SP19_1	Said Galai	said.galai@fmt.utm.tn	Implementation of new protocols for Glyphosate and its byproduct detection. Application for demonstration of neurotoxicity by in vitro N2a cells culture.
SP19_2	Yassine Ait Bali	yassine.aitbali@gmail.com	Insight on the neurotoxicity of glyphosate: Anxiogenic effect and underlying mechanisms
SP19_3	Zineb Bouargane	bouargan@uji.es	The alterations in normal behavior in adult rats resulting from nanoplastic intoxication of their mothers during pregnancy and/or lactation
SP19_4	Marc Landry	marc.landry@u-bordeaux.fr	Neuroinflammatory Mechanisms of Pain Hypersensitization in a Mouse Model of ADHD