Ana Verónica Domingues

  • Nucleus accumbens
  • D1-MSNs
  • D2-MSNs
  • Reward
  • Aversion
  • Associative learning

My name is Verónica Domingues and I am a PhD student at the School of Medicine, University of Minho. I am interested in exploring the neural basis of motivation. Using new cutting-edge neuroscience techniques (e.g. optogenetics, fiber photometry and calcium imaging using miniscopes), I am identifying and characterizing the neuronal ensembles representing rewarding and aversion, ranging from exposure to natural rewards (e.g. food), to exposure to foot shock. I’m trying to understand the anatomical and functional specificity of reward- and aversion-responsive ensembles in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc). So far, we evaluated D1- and D2-MSN activity in the NAc during Pavlovian conditioning, by recording the calcium activity, through 1-photon miniaturized microscopes, of NAc neurons during positive/negative Pavlovian conditioning.

Ana Verónica Domingues

  • Nucleus accumbens
  • D1-MSNs
  • D2-MSNs
  • Reward
  • Aversion
  • Associative learning

My name is Verónica Domingues and I am a PhD student at the School of Medicine, University of Minho. I am interested in exploring the neural basis of motivation. Using new cutting-edge neuroscience techniques (e.g. optogenetics, fiber photometry and calcium imaging using miniscopes), I am identifying and characterizing the neuronal ensembles representing rewarding and aversion, ranging from exposure to natural rewards (e.g. food), to exposure to foot shock. I’m trying to understand the anatomical and functional specificity of reward- and aversion-responsive ensembles in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc). So far, we evaluated D1- and D2-MSN activity in the NAc during Pavlovian conditioning, by recording the calcium activity, through 1-photon miniaturized microscopes, of NAc neurons during positive/negative Pavlovian conditioning.

Scientific Highlights

Papers:

DOMINGUES AV, Coimbra B, Correia R, Deseyve C, Floresco SB, Sousa N, Soares-Cunha C, Rodrigues AJ. Prenatal glucocorticoid exposure alters effort decision making and triggers nucleus accumbens and anterior cingulate cortex functional changes. Transl Psychiatry. 2022 Aug 19;12(1):338. doi: 10.1038/s41398-022-02043-4. IF: 6.8
Deseyve C* ,DOMINGUES AV*, Carvalho T.T.A*, Armada G, Correia R, Vieites-Gaspar N, Wezik M, Pinto L, Sousa N, Coimbra B, Rodrigues AJ Soares-Cunha C. Nucleus accumbens neurons dynamically respond to appetitive and aversive associative learning. Journal of Neurochemistry. 2024. Doi: 10.1111/jnc.16063. IF: 5.546
DOMINGUES AV*, Carvalho T.T.A*, Martins G.J, Correia R, Coimbra B, Gonçalves R, Wezik M, Gaspar R, Pinto L, Sousa N, Costa R.M, Soares-Cunha C, Rodrigues AJ. “Dynamic representation of appetitive and aversive stimuli in nucleus accumbens shell D1- and D2-medium spiny neurons”. Under revision Nat.commun
DOMINGUES AV, Rodrigues AJ Soares-Cunha C. A novel perspective on the role of nucleus accumbens neurons in encoding associative learning. Febs letters. 2023 Aug 29. doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.14727. IF: 3.864
DOMINGUES AV, Pereira IM, Vilaça-Faria H,Salgado AJ, Rodrigues AJ,Teixeira FG. 2020 “Glial cells in Parkinson´s disease: protective or deleterious?” Cell Mol Life Sci, 2020 Jul; IF: 9.261

Prizes
2019- Travel award for the ECNP workshop on Neuropsychopharmachology for Junior Scientists in Europe, March 2019, Nice, France
2019- PhD Fellowship, granted by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)
2022- Grant for Cajal course on Neural circuit basis of computation and behaviour, May, 2022
2022 – Travel award to attend ISN, granted by ISN
2024 – Travel award to attend FENS meeting, granted by SPN

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Projects

As Leader

Projects

As Member

Brainstem orchestration of cue-reward associations

The brain constantly integrates new sensory information, and associates environmental cues to outcomes, adjusting behavior to maximize reward and minimize unpleasant consequences. This process is critical for survival, and its dysregulation is a hallmark of…

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Sensory signals of associative learning

Through evolution, animals gained the remarkable ability to respond with sub second precision to environmental stimuli and to learn to associate those with positive or negative outcomes…

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