Current interests

After his retirement in 1999, Dr. Musacchio has focused his attention on the implications of neuropharmacology and neuroscience for the understanding of the mind-brain relationship, which he has presented at meetings of "Consciousness Studies" of the University of Arizona. He has recently published a couple of papers on the subject, which are available from his "Publications" page. He is currently working on additional articles on philosophy of mind and on a book.

Previous Research Experience

Dr. Musacchio''s initial studies on tyrosine hydroxylase and dihydropteridine reductase contributed to the characterization of the limiting step in the regulation of catecholamine biosynthesis. He later focused on the mechanism of action of narcotic drugs, and provided some of the initial evidence for the release of endogenous opiates by the electrical stimulation of the guinea pig ileum. He also studied with computer assisted modeling techniques the binding of several drugs and endogenous peptides to drug and neurotransmitter receptors. More recently, he has examined the expression of several of the novel receptor-protein tyrosine phosphatases in the central nervous system during different stages of development. In collaborative studies, he also showed that GGF/neuregulin is a neuronal signal that promotes the proliferation and survival of oligodendrocyte progenitors. He is the author of one hundred papers and has been fully funded throughout his career.

Other Professional Activities


Dr. Musacchio has been a member of several NIH advisory groups and professional societies, including: American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics; American Society for Neurochemistry; International Society for Neurochemistry; Society for Neuroscience and a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences.