This Research Unit is primarily interested in the study of nerve cells, in particular neurons and neurosecretory cells. For many years the aspect investigated in detail, using an approach that included membrane traffic and its regulation by intracellular signals, has been the release of neurotransmitters, Recently the Unit has enlarged its experimental approach by starting the study of gene transcription and focusing on the expression of nerve cell-specific genes. Therefore the cellular processes including membrane traffic are now investigated by the Unit starting with the genes and the regulation of their expression.