ICVS

Name: Ana João Rodrigues

Office: G2.25

School Phone: +351 253 604 929

Email: ajrodrigues@med.uminho.pt

Keywords: reward ▪ dopamine ▪ nucleus accumbens ▪ D2 receptor ▪ mesolimbic circuit ▪ glucocorticoids ▪ prenatal stress ▪ optogenetics ▪ electrophysiology ▪ epigenetics ▪

About

My research is focused in understanding what drives motivated behaviors and how the brain processes positive (and negative) stimuli, and the impact of stress in the underlying neuronal networks.

I use a combination of behavioral, neuroanatomical, electrophysiology, molecular and optogenetic tools to dissect the neurobiological basis of reward and motivation.
How do circuits encode and process positive and negative stimuli (reward/aversion)?
What drives motivated behaviors?
Can early life stress/glucocorticoids program these circuits? How?

Selected Honors and prizes

2011 InEurope Grant, International Brain Research Organization

2012 Janssen Neurosciences Prize, 1st edition

2013 Best article in Neurobiology of Sistems & Behavior, Portuguese Society for Neurosciences

2013 FCT Investigator Position
2016 Bial Prize

Projects

Long term impact of prenatal glucocorticoid exposure (Human study) (Leader)

Impact of peripheral neuropathies on CNS function and structure

Selected Publications

Rodrigues AJ, Leão P, Pêgo JM, Cardona D, Carvalho MM, Oliveira M, Costa BM, Carvalho AF, Morgado P, Araújo D, Palha JA, Almeida OF, Sousa N. Mechanisms of initiation and reversal of drug-seeking behavior induced by prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids. Mol Psychiatry. 2012 Dec;17(12):1295-305. doi: 10.1038/mp.2011.126.

Borges S, Coimbra B, Soares-Cunha C, Pego JM, Sousa N, Rodrigues AJ. Dopaminergic modulation of affective and social deficits induced by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure. Neuropsychopharmacology, 38(10):2068-79

Borges S, Coimbra B, Soares-Cunha C, Ventura-Silva P, Pinto L, Carvalho MM, Pego JM, Rodrigues AJ, Sousa N. Glucocorticoid programming of the mesopontine cholinergic system. Front Neuroendocr Sci, 4:190 (2013).

Soares-Cunha C, Coimbra B, Borges S, Carvalho MM, Rodrigues AJ*, Sousa N*. The motivational drive to natural rewards is modulated by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure. Transl Psychiatry, 4(6):e397 (2014).

Soares-Cunha C, Coimbra B, Pereira A, Pinto L, Costa P, Sousa N, Rodrigues AJ. Activation of D2 dopamine receptor-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens increases motivation. Nat Commun, 7:11829 (2016)