Roberto Pizzala currently works at the Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia. His main research project is directed to the dorsal cochlear nucleus, which (together with the ventral cochlear nucleus) represents the first auditory station in the CNS. The reasons for targeting this brain region are several: 1) it is the primary source of non-auditory information entering the auditory system, and forms the earliest “noise filter” in the brain; 2) it is located in a privileged position to take part to neuroimmune interactions, since it is surrounded by the 4th ventricle choroid plexus. 3) macrophages on its ventricular surface are directly in touch with its nervous parenchyma, and change their distribution upon cochlear damage.