Bárbara Guimarães Salazar Coimbra (F310-2242-55B5)

Curriculum Vitae

Bárbara Guimarães Salazar Coimbra

I am a Junior Researcher at the ICVS, University of Minho, under an FCT Scientific Employment Stimulus (CEEC) - Individual Call position (2020.03898.CEECIND).I have a degree in Biology and a MSc in Health Sciences. In 2018, I obtained my PhD in the School of Medicine, University of Minho, under the supervision of Ana João Rodrigues and Nuno Sousa, where my work was focused on role of laterodorsal tegmentum in motivation and reward and how the brain processes positive stimuli. During my PhD studies I was as team member in 4 research projects (FCT, Bial Foundation and ISAN). My main research focuses on the study of motivation and reward processes in natural conditions (place and food seeking/preferences or avoidance behaviors) and in context of disease (as depression or drug addiction). I am studying the laterodorsal tegmentum (LDT) projections and its integration in neuronal networks related with motivation/reward through the combination of behavioral, neurochemical, electrophysiological, optogenetic and imaging correlates. I published 29 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, publishing 4 papers as 1st author (including outstanding publication as first author: in Nature Communications, impact factor (IF)=12.1, Neuropsychopharmacology (IF=7.8) and eLife (IF=7.8), 9 papers as 2nd author (including Nature Communications, impact factor (IF)=12.1 and Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (IF)=8.3) and 16 papers as co-author, with an accumulated impact factor of , average IF=7.03, H-index=15 and a total of 840 citations. Of these publications, 6 were published as result of extended collaborations with several research groups. I am principal investigator of 1 ongoing project (FCT) and team member of 6 ongoing projects ("La Caixa" Foundation, ERC, FCT). As part of mentorship I supervised several students of different degrees, from undergraduate to master students.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: Bárbara Guimarães Salazar Coimbra

Citation names

Coimbra, Bárbara

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: F310-2242-55B5
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1737-2268
Researcher Id: AAE-7996-2020
Scopus Author Id: 55700724900

Email addresses

barbaracoimbra@med.uminho.pt (Professional)

Addresses

Escola de Medicina/Instituto de Ciências da Vida e da Saúde. Universidade of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057, Gualtar, Braga, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1737-2268 (Professional)

Knowledge fields

Medical and Health Sciences - Medical Biotechnology - Technologies Involving the Manipulation of Cells, Tissues, Organs or the Whole Organism
Medical and Health Sciences - Basic Medicine - Neurosciences
Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Cell Biology
Medical and Health Sciences - Health Sciences

Education

	Degree	Classification
2019/06/17 - 2021/06/06 Ongoing	Impact of prenatal stress in the reward system: from depression to addiction and back (Pós-doutoramento) Universidade do Minho, Portugal Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal
2019/01/15 - 2019/06/15 Concluded	MEDPERSYST - Redes sinápticas e abordagens compreensivas de medicina personalizada em doenças neurocomportamentais ao longo da vida (Pós-doutoramento) Universidade do Minho, Portugal Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal
2014/03/01 - 2018/12/20 Concluded	Ciências da Saúde (Doutoramento) Major in Especialidade: Ciências da Saúde Universidade do Minho, Portugal Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal "Role of laterodorsal tegmentum in motivation and reward" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2010/09/03 - 2012/06/30 Concluded	Mestrado em Ciências da Saúde (Mestrado) Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal "Effects of prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids in impulsivity and novelty-seeking behavior" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	16
2007/09/05 - 2010/07/15 Concluded	Biologia Aplicada (Licenciatura) Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências, Portugal "Nociception descending modulation in an animal model of chronic stress " (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	15

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2021 - Current	Contracted Researcher (Research)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2019/01/15 - 2021/06/30	Postdoc (Research)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

2013/03/15 - 2014/03/15	Researcher (Research)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

Teaching in Higher Education

	Category Host institution	Employer
2017 - Current	Invited Assistant (University Teacher)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

Others

	Category Host institution	Employer
2014/04/01 - 2018/12/20	PhD student	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal

2011/09/01 - 2012/12/17	Master in Health Sciences: Thesis project - "Effects of prenatal exposure of glucocorticoids in impulsive behavior"	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

2010/04/22 - 2010/07/06	Final Research Stage of Licenciatura em Biologia Aplicada - Modulação descendente da nocicepção em animais com stress crónico: modelo de stress crónico imprevisível	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

Projects

Grant

	Designation	Funders
2019/01/15 - 2019/06/15	MEDPERSYST - Redes sinápticas e abordagens compreensivas de medicina personalizada em doenças neurocomportamentais ao longo da vida SAICTPAC/0010/2015 Post-doc Fellow Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2012/03/01 - 2013/03/01	DoIT- Desenvolvimento e Operacionalização da Investigação de Translação UMINHO/BI/134/2013 Research Fellow Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal	Concluded

Contract

	Designation	Funders
2021 - 2026	Challenging current models of Valence encoding in the mammalian brain ERC Consolidator 101003187 Post-doc Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal	European Research Council Ongoing
2023 - 2025	Novel tools for selective targeting of neuronal ensembles encoding valence FEBS_CC Post-doc	Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Ongoing
2023 - 2024	Genetic and functional maps of neuronal ensembles encoding natural rewards versus drugs of abuse 2022.01467.PTDC Post-doc	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
2021 - 2024	Neuronal circuits of reward and aversion: where do endogenous opioids stand? PTDC/MED-NEU/4804/2020 Post-doc	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing
2021 - 2024	Defining how cocaine alters laterodorsal tegmentum to nucleus accumbens inputs and relevance for the development of natural reward deficits PTDC/SAU-TOX/6802/2020 Principal investigator	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
2021 - 2024	The role of nucleus accumbens in the perception of natural rewards 175/20 Researcher Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal	Fundação Bial
2018/07/01 - 2021/06/30	Impact of prenatal stress in the reward system: from depression to addiction and back PTDC/MED-NEU/29071/2017 Post-doc Fellow Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing

Other

	Designation	Funders
2017 - Current	Synaptic networks and Personalized Medicine Approaches to Understand Neurobehavioural Diseases Across the Lifespan POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016428 Researcher Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2020 - 2023	Encoding reward and aversion in the mammalian brain: the overlooked role of endogenous opioids HR20-01000 Post-doc Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal	Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona
2017 - 2019	Neuronal basis of motivation 30/2016 Researcher Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal	Concluded
2012/01/01 - 2012/08/01	Reprogramming effects of early life stress Institute¿ for¿ Social¿ and¿ Affective¿ Neuroscience¿ (ISAN) Other Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal	Concluded

Outputs

Publications

Conference abstract	Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, Carina; Borges, Sónia; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, Ana João. "Reward deficits triggered by glucocorticoid exposure depend on laterodorsal tegmentum inputs to ventral tegmental area in rats". Paper presented in European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Workshop for Junior Scientists in Europe, 2017. Published Soares-Cunha, Carina; Coimbra, Bárbara; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, Ana João. "Nucleus accumbens D2-dependent increase in motivation: impact of selective manipulation of local microcircuits". Paper presented in ISN-ESN Meeting, 2017. Published Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, Carina; Borges, Sónia; Vasconcelos, Nivaldo António Portela; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, Ana João. "Impairments in laterodorsal tegmentum to VTA projections underlie glucocorticoid triggered reward deficits". Paper presented in ISN-ESN Meeting, 2017. Published Soares-Cunha, Carina; Coimbra, Bárbara; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, Ana João. "Impact of selective manipulation of nucleus accumbens local microcircuits on D2-medium spiny neurons (MSN)-dependent increase in motivation". Paper presented in 30th Congress of the European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), 2017. Published Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, Carina; Borges, Sónia; Vasconcelos, Nivaldo António Portela; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, Ana João. "Reward deficits triggered by glucocorticoids are driven by laterodorsal tegmentum ventral tegmental area dysfunction". Paper presented in 30th Congress of the European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), 2017. Published Coimbra, B.; Soares-Cunha, C.; Borges, S.; Sousa, N.; Rodrigues, A.. "Modulation of the laterodorsal tegmental area inputs to the ventral tegmental area by prenatal stress". 2016. 10.1016/s0924-977x(16)31032-x Soares-Cunha C; Coimbra B; David-Pereira A; Borges S; Pinto L; Costa P; Sousa N; Rodrigues AJ. "Activation of D2 dopamine receptor-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens increases motivation.". 2016. 10.1038/ncomms11829 Soares-Cunha, C.; Coimbra, B.; Borges, S.; Rodrigues, A.J.; Sousa, N.. "P.1.c.011 The modulation of reward-responses is dependent on dopamine D2 receptor activation in the nucleus accumbens". 2015. 10.1016/s0924-977x(15)30201-7 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.". 2014. Borges S; Coimbra B; Soares-Cunha C; Ventura-Silva AP; Pinto L; Carvalho MM; Pêgo JM; Rodrigues AJ; Sousa N. "Glucocorticoid programing of the mesopontine cholinergic system.". 2013. 10.3389/fendo.2013.00190
Conference poster	Gaspar, Rita; Soares-Cunha, Carina; Coimbra, Bárbara; Domingues, AV; Baptista, F; Fontes-Ribeiro, CA; Sousa, Nuno; et al. "Prenatal glucocorticoid exposure alters microglia in a sex-specific manner and blunts stress-induced behavioral changes in adulthood". Paper presented in Glia - XIV European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease, 2019. Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, C; Borges, S.; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Role of LDT-VTA inputs in multiple phases of reward behaviour.". Paper presented in 11th FENS Forum of Neuroscience. Berlin, Germany, 7-11 July 2018, 2018. Mustonen, Paula; Karlsson, Linnea; Scheinin, Noora M.; Kortesluoma, Susanna; Coimbra, Bárbara; Rodrigues, Ana João; Karlsson, Hasse. "Different Aspects to Prenatal Stress from Hair Cortisol Concentration Studies?". Paper presented in NORDCAP Conference 2018, Finland, 2018. Mustonen, Paula; Karlsson, Linnea; Scheinin, NM; Kortesluoma, Susanna; Coimbra, Bárbara; Rodrigues, Ana João; Sousa, Nuno; Karlsson, Hasse. "Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms moderate the association between maternal hair cortisol concentration and infant corpus callosum integrity". Paper presented in 48th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2018. Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, C; Borges, S; de Vasconcelos, NAP; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Reward deficits triggered by glucocorticoid exposure depend on laterodorsal tegmentum inputs to ventral tegmental area in rats". Paper presented in ECNP workshop on Neuropsychopharmacology for junior scientists in Europe. Nice, France, 9-12 March 2017., 2017. Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, C.; Borges, S; de Vasconcelos, NAP; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Impairments in laterodorsal tegmentum to VTA projections underlie glucocorticoid triggered reward deficits.". Paper presented in XIII Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (SPN). Braga, Portugal, 25-26 May 2017., 2017. Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, C.; Borges, S; de Vasconcelos, NAP; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Impairments in laterodorsal tegmentum to VTA projections underlie glucocorticoid triggered reward deficits.". Paper presented in ISN-ESN Meeting 2017. Paris, France, 20-24 August 2017., 2017. Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, C; Borges, S; de Vasconcelos, NAP; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Impairments in laterodorsal tegmentum to VTA projections underlie glucocorticoid triggered reward deficits.". Paper presented in Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Washington, USA, 11-15 November 2017., 2017. Soares-Cunha, C; Coimbra, Bárbara; David-Pereira, A; Borges, S; Pinto, Luisa; Costa, P; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "D2-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens modulates motivation". Paper presented in FENS SfN Summer School. Bertinoro, Italy, 29 May- 4 June 2016., 2016. Soares-Cunha, C; Coimbra, Bárbara; David-Pereira, A; Borges, S; Pinto, Luisa; Costa, P; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "D2-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens modulate motivation". Paper presented in 10th FENS Forum of Neuroscience. Copenhagen, Denmark, 2-6 July 2016., 2016. Soares-Cunha, C; Coimbra, Bárbara; David-Pereira, A; Borges, S; Pinto, Luisa; Costa, P; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Activation of D1- and D2-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens enhances motivation". Paper presented in Society for Neuroscience (SfN). San Diego, USA, 12-16 November 2016., 2016. Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, C; Borges, S; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Impact of prenatal stress in laterodorsal tegmental area inputs to the ventral tegmental area". Paper presented in 10th FENS Forum of Neuroscience. Copenhagen, Denmark, 2-6 July 2016., 2016. Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, C; Borges, S; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Modulation of the laterodorsal tegmental area inputs to the ventral tegmental area by prenatal stress". Paper presented in 29th ECNP congress of applied and translational neuroscience. Vienna, Austria, 17 – 20 September 2016, 2016. Soares-Cunha, C; Coimbra, Bárbara; David-Pereira, A.; Borges, S; Pinto, Luisa; Costa, P; Deisseroth, K; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Activation of D2-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens enhances motivation". Paper presented in Neuroscience (SfN). Chicago, USA, 17-21 October, 2015., 2015. Coimbra, Bárbara. "The modulation of reward-responses is dependent on dopamine D2 receptor activation in the nucleus accumbens". Paper presented in 28th ecnp congress of applied and translational neuroscience. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 29 August-1 September 2015., 2015. Soares-Cunha, C.; Coimbra, Bárbara; David-Pereira, A; Borges, S; Pinto, Luisa; Costa, P; Deisseroth, K; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Stimulation of dopamine D2-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens facilitates motivation". Paper presented in XIV Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (SPN). Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, 4-5 June 2015, 2015. 10.1109/iembs.2009.5333768 Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, C; Borges, S; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "Effects of stress in the mesopontine cholinergic control of nucleus accumbens activity.". Paper presented in SPN 2015. XIII Reunião da Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. June, 2015., 2015. Soares-Cunha, C; Coimbra, Bárbara; David-Pereira, A.; Borges, S; Pinto, Luisa; Costa, P; Deisseroth, K; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "dopamine D2 receptor activation in the nucleus accumbens regulates motivation". Paper presented in ECNP Workshop for Junior Scientists in Europe. Nice, France, 12-15 March 2015., 2015. Soares-Cunha, C; Coimbra, Bárbara; Borges, S; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "The motivational drive to natural rewards is modulated by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure.". Paper presented in FENS Forum. Washington, USA, 15-19 November 2014., 2014. Coimbra, Bárbara; Rodrigues, AJ; Sousa, Nuno. "Role of glucocorticoids in the epigenetic modulation of the cholinergic system". Paper presented in EMBO workshop - Epigenetic plasticity: Implications in neural (dys)function, Braga, Portugal. October 2014., 2014. Coimbra, Bárbara. "The motivational drive to natural rewards is modulated by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure.". Paper presented in FENS Forum. Milan, Italy, 5-9 July 2014., 2014. Soares-Cunha, C; Coimbra, Bárbara; Borges, S; Rodrigues, AJ; Sousa, Nuno. "Prenatal glucocorticoid exposure disrupts Pavlovian-instrumental transfer: role of D2 dopamine receptor". Paper presented in XII Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (SPN). Luso, Portugal, 31 May-2 June 2013., 2013. Coimbra, Bárbara; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, AJ. "From novelty-seeking to impulsive behaviour: effects of prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids". Paper presented in SPN 2013. XIII Reunião da Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Luso, Portugal. May/June, 2013., 2013. Coimbra, Bárbara; Borges, S; Soares-Cunha, C; Pêgo, José Miguel; Piscitelli, F; Marzo, V; Palha, J; Rodrigues, AJ; Sousa, Nuno. "Prenatal glucocorticoid exposure affects social and affective behaviors". Paper presented in Neuroscience 2012. XLII Meeting of the Society for Neurosciences, New Orleans, USA. October, 2012., 2012.
Journal article	Patrícia A. Gomes; Cristian Bodo; Carlos Nogueras-Ortiz; Martina Samiotaki; Minghao Chen; Carina Soares-Cunha; Joana M. Silva; et al. "A novel isolation method for spontaneously released extracellular vesicles from brain tissue and its implications for stress-driven brain pathology". Cell Communication and Signaling (2023): https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-023-01045-z. 10.1186/s12964-023-01045-z Raquel Correia; Ana Verónica Domingues; Bárbara Coimbra; Natacha Vieitas-Gaspar; Nuno Sousa; Luisa Pinto; Ana João Rodrigues; Carina Soares-Cunha. "Involvement of nucleus accumbens D2-MSN projections to the ventral pallidum in anxious-like behaviour". Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (2023): Accepted Ana Verónica Domingues; Bárbara Coimbra; Raquel Correia; Catarina Deseyve; Natacha Vieitas-Gaspar; Stan B. Floresco; Nuno Sousa; Carina Soares-Cunha; Ana João Rodrigues. "Prenatal dexamethasone exposure alters effort decision making and triggers nucleus accumbens and anterior cingulate cortex functional changes in male rats". Translational Psychiatry (2022): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-02043-4. 10.1038/s41398-022-02043-4 Gaspar, Rita; Soares-Cunha, Carina; Domingues, Ana Verónica; Coimbra, Bárbara; Baptista, Filipa I.; Pinto, Luísa; Ambrósio, António F.; Rodrigues, Ana João; Gomes, Catarina A.. "The Duration of Stress Determines Sex Specificities in the Vulnerability to Depression and in the Morphologic Remodeling of Neurons and Microglia". Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 16 (2022): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.834821. 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.834821 Soares-Cunha, Carina; Domingues, Ana Verónica; Correia, Raquel; Coimbra, Bárbara; Vieitas-Gaspar, Natacha; de Vasconcelos, Nivaldo A.P.; Pinto, Luísa; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, Ana João. "Distinct role of nucleus accumbens D2-MSN projections to ventral pallidum in different phases of motivated behavior". Cell Reports 38 7 (2022): 110380. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110380. 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110380 Bárbara Coimbra; Ana Verónica Domingues; Carina Soares-Cunha; Raquel Correia; Luísa Pinto; Nuno Sousa; Ana João Rodrigues. "Laterodorsal tegmentum–ventral tegmental area projections encode positive reinforcement signals". Journal of Neuroscience Research (2021): https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24931. 10.1002/jnr.24931 Viitaniemi, Hilja; Suominen, Auli; Karlsson, Linnea; Mustonen, Paula; Kortesluoma, Susanna; Rantavuori, Kari; Rodrigues, Ana João; et al. "Hair Cortisol Concentrations Are Associated with Dental Anxiety during Pregnancy". Dentistry Journal 9 4 (2021): 42. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/dj9040042. 10.3390/dj9040042 Gaspar, R.; Soares-Cunha, C.; Domingues, A.V.; Coimbra, B.; Baptista, F.I.; Pinto, L.; Ambrósio, A.F.; Rodrigues, A.J.; Gomes, C.A.. "Resilience to stress and sex-specific remodeling of microglia and neuronal morphology in a rat model of anxiety and anhedonia". Neurobiology of Stress 14 (2021): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85100476643&partnerID=MN8TOARS. 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100302 Aatsinki, A.-K.; Keskitalo, A.; Laitinen, V.; Munukka, E.; Uusitupa, H.-M.; Lahti, L.; Kortesluoma, S.; et al. "Maternal prenatal psychological distress and hair cortisol levels associate with infant fecal microbiota composition at 2.5 months of age". Psychoneuroendocrinology 119 (2020): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85086118792&partnerID=MN8TOARS. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104754 Lotfi, N.; Fontenele, A.J.; Feliciano, T.; Aguiar, L.A.A.; De Vasconcelos, N.A.P.; Soares-Cunha, C.; Coimbra, B.; et al. "Signatures of brain criticality unveiled by maximum entropy analysis across cortical states". Physical Review E 102 1 (2020): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85089345395&partnerID=MN8TOARS. Submitted • 10.1103/PhysRevE.102.012408 Bárbara Coimbra; Carina Soares-Cunha; Nivaldo A P Vasconcelos; Ana Verónica Domingues; Sónia Borges; Nuno Sousa; Ana João Rodrigues. "Role of laterodorsal tegmentum projections to nucleus accumbens in reward-related behaviors". Nature Communications (2019): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11557-3. 10.1038/s41467-019-11557-3 Carina Soares-Cunha; Nivaldo A. P. de Vasconcelos; Bárbara Coimbra; Ana Verónica Domingues; Joana M. Silva; Eduardo Loureiro-Campos; Rita Gaspar; et al. "Correction: Nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons subtypes signal both reward and aversion". Molecular Psychiatry (2019): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0525-y. 10.1038/s41380-019-0525-y Carina Soares-Cunha; Nivaldo A. P. de Vasconcelos; Bárbara Coimbra; Ana Verónica Domingues; Joana M. Silva; Eduardo Loureiro-Campos; Rita Gaspar; et al. "Nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons subtypes signal both reward and aversion". Molecular Psychiatry (2019): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0484-3. 10.1038/s41380-019-0484-3 Mustonen P; Karlsson L; Kataja EL; Scheinin NM; Kortesluoma S; Coimbra B; Rodrigues AJ; Sousa N; Karlsson H. "Maternal prenatal hair cortisol is associated with prenatal depressive symptom trajectories.". Psychoneuroendocrinology (2019): http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/31400561. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104383 Fontenele AJ; de Vasconcelos NAP; Feliciano T; Aguiar LAA; Soares-Cunha C; Coimbra B; Dalla Porta L; et al. "Criticality between Cortical States.". Physical review letters 122 20 (2019): http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/31172737. 10.1103/physrevlett.122.208101 Goulart, A.; Ferreira, C.; Rodrigues, A.; Coimbra, B.; Sousa, N.; Leão, P.. "The correlation between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and tumor VEGF receptor 3 in colorectal cancer". Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research 97 1 (2019): 15-20. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85069501435&partnerID=MN8TOARS. 10.4174/astr.2019.97.1.15 Soares, Ana Rosa; Esteves, Madalena; Moreira, Pedro Silva; Cunha, Ana Margarida; Guimarães, Marco Rafael; Carvalho, Miguel Murteira; Raposo-Lima, Catarina; et al. "Trait determinants of impulsive behavior: a comprehensive analysis of 188 rats". Scientific Reports 8 1 (2018): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-35537-7. Published • 10.1038/s41598-018-35537-7 Soares-Cunha, Carina; Coimbra, Bárbara; Borges, Sónia; Domingues, Ana Verónica; Silva, Deolinda; Sousa, Nuno; Rodrigues, Ana João. "Mild Prenatal Stress Causes Emotional and Brain Structural Modifications in Rats of Both Sexes". Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 12 (2018): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00129. Published • 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00129 Mustonen P; Karlsson L; Scheinin NM; Kortesluoma S; Coimbra B; Rodrigues AJ; Karlsson H. "Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as a measure for prenatal psychological distress - A systematic review.". Psychoneuroendocrinology (2018): http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/29609112. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.03.019 Soares-Cunha, C.; Coimbra, B.; Domingues, A.V.; Vasconcelos, N.; Sousa, N.; Rodrigues, A.J.; Soares-Cunha, Carina; et al. "Nucleus accumbens microcircuit underlying D2-MSN-driven increase in motivation". eNeuro 5 2 (2018): ENEURO.0386-18.2018. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85058232597&partnerID=MN8TOARS. Published • 10.1523/ENEURO.0386-18.2018 Bárbara Coimbra; Carina Soares-Cunha; Sónia Borges; Nivaldo AP Vasconcelos; Nuno Sousa; Ana João Rodrigues. "Impairments in laterodorsal tegmentum to VTA projections underlie glucocorticoid-triggered reward deficits". eLife 6 (2017): https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25843. Published • 10.7554/eLife.25843 Coimbra, Bárbara. "Adenosine A2A receptor regulation of microglia morphological remodeling-gender bias in physiology and in a model of chronic anxiety.". Molecular psychiatry (2017): http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/27725661. Published • 10.1038/mp.2016.173 Soares-Cunha, C.; Coimbra, B.; David-Pereira, A.; Pinto, L.; Costa, P.; Sousa, N.; Rodrigues, A.. "Activation of D1 and D2-expressing neurons in the nucleus accumbens enhances motivation". European Neuropsychopharmacology 26 (2016): S186. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0924-977x(16)31020-3. 10.1016/s0924-977x(16)31020-3 Soares-Cunha C; Coimbra B; Sousa N; Rodrigues AJ. "Reappraising striatal D1- and D2-neurons in reward and aversion.". (2016): http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/27235078. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.05.021 Soares-Cunha, C; Coimbra, B; Borges, S; Carvalho, M M; Rodrigues, A J; Sousa, N. "The motivational drive to natural rewards is modulated by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure". Translational Psychiatry 4 6 (2014): e397-e397. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/tp.2014.45. 10.1038/tp.2014.45 Borges S; Coimbra B; Soares-Cunha C; Miguel Pêgo J; Sousa N; João Rodrigues A. "Dopaminergic modulation of affective and social deficits induced by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure.". (2013): http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/23648781. 10.1038/npp.2013.108 Carvalho MM; Campos FL; Coimbra B; Pêgo JM; Rodrigues C; Lima R; Rodrigues AJ; Sousa N; Salgado AJ. "Behavioral characterization of the 6-hydroxidopamine model of Parkinson's disease and pharmacological rescuing of non-motor deficits.". (2013): http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/23621954. 10.1186/1750-1326-8-14 Borges, Sónia; Coimbra, Bárbara; Soares-Cunha, Carina; Ventura-Silva, Ana P.; Pinto, Luisa; Carvalho, Miguel M.; Pêgo, José-Miguel; Rodrigues, Ana João; Sousa, Nuno. "Glucocorticoid Programing of the Mesopontine Cholinergic System". Frontiers in Endocrinology 4 (2013): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2013.00190. Published • 10.3389/fendo.2013.00190
Thesis / Dissertation	Coimbra, Bárbara. "Role of laterodorsal tegmentum in motivation and reward". PhD, Universidade do Minho, 2018. Rodrigues, Ana João; Sousa, Nuno; Coimbra, Bárbara Guimarães Salazar. "Effects of prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids in impulsivity and novelty-seeking behavior". Master, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1822/24479.

Other

Other output

Distinct role of nucleus accumbens D2-MSN projections to ventral pallidum in different phases of motivated behavior. 2020. Carina Soares-Cunha; Raquel Correia; Ana Verónica Domingues; Bárbara Coimbra; Nivaldo AP de Vasconcelos; Luísa Pinto; Nuno Sousa; Ana João Rodrigues. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.27.401042.
10.1101/2020.11.27.401042
Criticality between cortical states. 2018. Fontenele AJ; de Vasconcelos NAP; Feliciano T; Aguiar LAA; Soares-Cunha C; Coimbra B; Porta LD; et al. http://europepmc.org/abstract/PPR/PPR60235.
10.1101/454934

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2022	Laterodorsal tegmentum-Nucleus accumbens projections underlie cocaine-induced preference	ISN-APSN 2022 Meeting International Society of Neurochemistry (Honululu, United States)
2022	Laterodorsal tegmentum projections to nucleus accumbens drive preference and increase motivation.	Addiction 2022
2022	Beyond Accumbens: role of LDT inputs in reward signalling.	Ciência Falada Universidade do Minho
2019/10/19	Role of different laterodorsal tegmentum inputs to nucleus accumbens in reward	Neuroscience SfN 2019 Society for Neuroscience (Chicago, United States)
2019/08/27	In-vivo circuit manipulation/optogenetics - From networks to behavior and back	Young Scientists’ Workshop associated with the EBPS Biennial Meeting 2019 European Behavioral Pharmacology Society (Braga, Portugal)
2017	Reward deficits triggered by glucocorticoids are driven by laterodorsal tegmentum-ventral tegmental area dysfunction	30th ECNP Congress of Applied and Translational Neuroscience ECNP (France)
2017	Impairments in laterodorsal tegmentum to VTA projections underlie glucocorticoid triggered reward deficits	XIII Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (SPN) Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências (Portugal)
2017	Reward deficits triggered by glucocorticoid exposure depend on laterodorsal tegmentum inputs to ventral tegmental area in rats	ECNP workshop on Neuropsychopharmacology for junior scientists in Europe. ECNP (France)
2013	Prenatal glucocorticoid exposure disrupts Pavlovian-instrumental transfer: role of D2 dopamine receptor.	XIII Reunião da Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências (Luso, Portugal)
2013	Dopaminergic modulation of affective and social deficits induced by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure	SPN 2013. XIII Reunião da Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências (Luso, Portugal)
2013	From novelty-seeking to impulsive behaviour: effects of prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids	SPN 2013. XIII Reunião da Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências (Portugal)
2012	The secretome of mesenchymal stem cells as therapeutical option for Parkinson's Disease	07/20/2015-07/24/2015 ICVS/3B's - Associate Laboratory

Supervision

	Thesis Title Role	Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2021 - 2023	Investigating the neuronal ensembles encoding valence in the Laterodorsal Tegmentum Supervisor	Mestrado em Ciências da Saúde (Master) Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal

Event organisation

	Event name Type of event (Role)	Institution / Organization
2012 - Current	Brain awareness week - neuroscience (2012)
2023 - 2023	New insights into the modulation of reward and aversion encoding in the brainstem (2023) Symposium (Other)	Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Belgium Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Portugal
2019/08/27 - 2019/08/27	Organization of the Young Scientists’ Workshop associated with the EBPS Biennial Meeting 2019 (2019/08/27 - 2019/08/27) Workshop (Co-organisor)
2017 - 2017	XV Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (2017 - 2017) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2014 - 2014	EMBO workshop: Epigenetic plasticity: Implications in neural (dys)function (2014 - 2014) Workshop (Other)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2010 - 2010	Applied Biology Conference 2010 (2010) Meeting (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Event participation

	Activity description Type of event	Event name Institution / Organization
2019/10/19 - 2019/10/23	Neuroscience congress - Oral presentation in symposium Congress	Neuroscience 2019 Society for Neuroscience, United States
2019/08/28 - 2019/08/31	Neuroscience congress Congress	EBPS Biennial Meeting 2019 European Behavioural Pharmacology Society, Germany
2019/08/27 - 2019/08/27	Lecture in workshop: "In-vivo circuit manipulation/optogenetics" Workshop	European Behavioral Pharmacology (EBPS) Biennial Meeting 2019 European Behavioural Pharmacology Society, Germany
2019/05/30 - 2019/06/01	Neuroscience congress Congress	XVI Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neurosciences Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Portugal
2018/07/07 - 2018/07/11	Neuroscience congress Congress	11th FENS Forum of Neuroscience 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Belgium
2017/11/11 - 2017/11/15	Neuroscience congress Congress	Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Neuroscience 2017 Society for Neuroscience, United States
2017/09/02 - 2017/09/05	Neuroscience congress - Oral presentation in symposium Congress	30th ECNP Congress of Applied and Translational Neuroscience European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Netherlands
2017/08/20 - 2017/08/24	Neuroscience congress Congress	ISN-ESN Meeting 2017 International Society for Neurochemistry, Switzerland
2017/05/25 - 2017/05/26	Neuroscience congress - Oral presentation in symposium Congress	XIII Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Portugal
2017/03/09 - 2017/03/12	Workshop for junior scientists - Oral presentation in symposium Workshop	ECNP workshop on Neuropsychopharmacology for junior scientists in Europe European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Netherlands
2016/09/17 - 2016/09/20	Neuroscience congress Congress	29th ECNP congress of applied and translational neuroscience European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Netherlands
2016/07/02 - 2016/07/06	Neuroscience congress Congress	10th FENS Forum of Neuroscience Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Belgium
2015/06/04 - 2015/06/05	Neuroscience congress Congress	XIV Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Portugal
2014 - 2014	EMBO workshop Workshop	EMBO workshop - Epigenetic plasticity: Implications in neural (dys)function EMBO Press, Germany
2013 - 2013	Neuroscience congress - Oral presentation in symposium Congress	XIII Reunião da Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociência Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Portugal

Association member

	Society Organization name	Role
2016 - Current	International Society for Neurochemistry	Member
2016 - Current	European Society for Neurochemistry	Member
2013 - Current	Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências	Effective Member
2013 - Current	Federation of European Neuroscience Societies	Effective Member

Course / Discipline taught

	Academic session	Degree Subject (Type)	Institution / Organization
2021 - Current	Fundamentals in Neurosciences		Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal
2013 - Current	Laboratory Animal Sciences	Animals Sciences (Postgraduate Certificate) (Curso de doutoramento (conclusão de unidades curriculares))	Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal

Evaluation committee

	Activity description Role	Institution / Organization	Funding entity
2018 - Current	Evaluation committee of Laboratory Animal Sciences Project Evaluator	Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal

Journal scientific committee

	Journal title (ISSN)	Publisher
2022 - Current	Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (1662-5153)	Frontiers
2022 - Current	BMC Psychiatry	Springer Nature

Mentoring / Tutoring

	Topic	Student name
2019/11/28 - 2020/01/03	Laboratory rotation - Master program in Health Sciences	Natacha Gaspar
2019 - 2019	Laboratory Animal Sciences' Lab rotation	Raquel Correia
2019 - 2019	Laboratory Animal Sciences' Lab rotation	Carlos Marques
2019 - 2019	Laboratory Animal Sciences' Lab rotation	Daniela Garcia
2018 - 2018	Laboratory Animal Sciences' Lab rotation	Henrique Silva
2018 - 2018	Laboratory Animal Sciences' Lab rotation	Joana Martins
2018 - 2018	Laboratory Animal Sciences' Lab rotation	Laura Silva
2017 - 2018	Master Thesis in Health Sciences	Laura Silva
2017 - 2017	Final project of biochemistry degree	Ana Helena Borges
2017 - 2017	Final project of biochemistry degree	Ana Rita Machado
2017 - 2017	Final project of biochemistry degree	Vitória Baptista

Distinctions

Award

2022	Travel Award to attend the ISN-APSN Meeting, Honolulu, USA International Society for Neurochemistry, Switzerland
2021	SPN Best Manuscript 2020 Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Portugal
2021	Research Incentive Award Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2020	Research Incentive Award Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2018	Travel scholarship granted by FENS/IBRO to attend FENS meeting 2018, Berlin, Germany Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Belgium
2017	Travel award to attend 30th ECNP Congress, Paris, France European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Netherlands
2017	Travel Award for the ECNP Workshop on Neuropsychopharmacology for Junior Scientists in Europe, March 2017, Nice, France European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Netherlands
2017	Best poster award on 30th ECNP Congress, Paris, France European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Netherlands
2017	Fellowship Award for 2017 ISN ESN Meeting, Paris, France
2016	Best poster FENS/SfN Summer School on Cellular mechanisms and networks in addiction Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Belgium
2016	Travel award to granted by Portuguese Society for Neurosciences (SPN) to attend FENS meeting 2016

Title

2020	Scientific Employment Stimulus (CEEC 3rd Edition) - Junior Researcher Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal