The Neuropsychopharmacology Group at the University of the Basque Country / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (EHU) is ascribed to the Department of Pharmacology and primarily conducts its activities at this Department's facilities located in the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing on Leioa Campus. The group originated from a scientific line initiated in 1982 and has since been led by various researchers.

The Neuropsychopharmacology Group is part of the Network Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, área de de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), an initiative of the Carlos III Health Institute, which comprises multiple clinical and basic research groups dedicated to cooperative research in mental illnesses from a translational perspective. The group is also integrated into the Biobizkaia Health Research Institute, as part of the research area titled "Early Stages of Psychosis," which is led by the Psychiatry Department of Cruces University Hospital.

Since 1986, the Neuropsychopharmacology Group has developed a line of research aimed at evaluating alterations in the central nervous system associated with various psychiatric disorders. A key research focus is the evaluation of the involvement of different neuroreceptors in affective and psychotic disorders. This research line includes two main areas: one based on the study of neurochemical and molecular disorders directly observed in postmortem brains of individuals with depression, schizophrenia, or other severe mental illnesses; and the other based on the use of animal models—preferably in vivo—to analyze neurochemical and molecular responses to antidepressant or antipsychotic drug treatments. Postmortem human brain studies are made possible through an agreement with the Basque Institute of Legal Medicine, which has enabled the Neuropsychopharmacology Group to establish a brain collection currently containing samples from over a thousand normal and pathological brains with corresponding diagnoses. Both research approaches complement and reinforce each other, allowing experimental designs to be directed toward objectives of clear relevance to the treatment of specifically human pathologies such as depression or schizophrenia. In connection with the two previous lines focused on the etiopathogenesis of psychiatric disorders, studies of biomarkers in peripheral tissues from patients are also being developed to facilitate biological diagnosis and prognosis.

In parallel, and as the group has grown through the incorporation of new permanent researchers, it has developed several research lines related to disorders associated with the use of alcohol, opioids, and cannabis. One area of interest concerns the mechanisms linking chronic cannabis use with the risk of psychosis. A recently added line of research evaluates molecular and neurochemical alterations in various dementias and cognitive disorders in general. This new line applies methods like those used in psychiatric disorder studies, including the routine use of postmortem brain samples.

Some of the central or peripheral markers found to be altered in the different conditions studied by the group have the potential to serve as new pharmacological targets. Therefore, the group is engaged in collaborative studies focused on the design and evaluation of new drugs, as well as on biological modulation in response to currently available empirical treatments.

The Neuropsychopharmacology Group has continuously contributed to attracting researchers to EHU through programs such as Juan de la Cierva and Ramón y Cajal, which has increased the critical mass of researchers and enabled the opening of new research lines within the Department of Pharmacology.

As a university research group, the Neuropsychopharmacology Group is involved in the education of undergraduate students in Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Biochemistry, and Biochemical Engineering, as well as graduate students through participation in various Master's programs and the Doctoral Program. The group offers opportunities for the supervised development of Bachelor's theses, Master's theses, and Doctoral dissertations.

The core values that define the research group are excellence, internal and external collaboration, transparency in its activities, and a translational orientation in the research it conducts.