Physiological (spontaneous) and reactive (reparative) regenerative processes are fundamental part of life and greatly differ among the different animals and tissues. While spontaneous regeneration naturally occurs upon cell attrition, reparative regeneration occurs as a consequence of tissue damage. Both spontaneous and reparative regeneration play an important role in maintaining the normal equilibrium of the central nervous system (CNS) as well as in promoting its repair upon injury. The main gaol of the unit - which will be approached by several interdisciplinary research strategies - is to study the molecular and cellular pathways sustaining both spontaneous and reparative regenerative processes in both the healthy and the diseased (inflammatory and neurodegeneration) CNS.