IKTrace Seminar: The long and winding road to dementia: Exploring Alzheimer’s disease trajectories through mathematical modelling
Date: Wed. October 28, 2026
Event: IKTrace Seminar (IMAT-CCM)
The IKTrace Seminar (IMAT-CCM), is a new initiative conceived as a forum for academic exchange, discussion, and collaboration within and beyond our mathematics research group.
Title: The long and winding road to dementia: Exploring Alzheimer’s disease trajectories through mathematical modelling
Speaker: Giulio Bonifazi
Affiliation: University of Deusto
Abstract. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease characterized by biological changes that can begin years before the onset of clinical symptoms. Among the processes associated with its early stages, neuronal hyperactivity has emerged as a potential contributor to disease progression. One possible mechanism involves amyloid-β (Aβ)-mediated alterations in glutamate uptake by astrocytes, non-neuronal cells that play a key role in regulating neuronal activity. However, the interplay between Aβ accumulation, glutamate dynamics, and neuronal hyperactivity remains incompletely understood.
Mathematical modelling provides a framework for investigating these mechanisms and exploring how their interactions may shape disease progression. In this seminar, we will introduce a biophysical model describing the interplay between three main pathways: glutamate-mediated neuronal activity, Aβ-dependent glutamate uptake, and activity-dependent Aβ production. By integrating these processes into a unified mathematical framework, the model allows us to investigate how their interactions can give rise to different trajectories of AD involving neuronal hyperactivity.
Finally, we will discuss how local tissue properties shape the different trajectories of AD, illustrating why disease progression may follow different paths across the brain.
WHERE
On-site: Room E313.
ESIDE building, 3rd floor. University of Deusto
Unibertsitate Etorb., 24007, Deusto, 48014 Bilbao, Bizkaia
The seminar aims to strengthen mutual awareness of ongoing research lines, teaching interests, and interdisciplinary initiatives that will help identify shared interests, foster new synergies, and encourage future collaborations among colleagues from different areas of the Faculty of Engineering at University of Deusto.