IBMC reseachers win Grünenthal Foundation Award

IBMC and FMUP researchers Vasco Galhardo, Hélder Cruz, Margarida Dourado and Clara Monteiro, along with FMUP researcher Mariana Matos, have just been handed the Basic Research Award, worth 7500€, by the Grünenthal Foundation. 

Their work, entitled "Dopaminergic modulation in neuropathic pain: the action of dopamine receptor D2/D3 in the reversal of spatial memory impairment", focuses on assessing if the prevalence of painful sindromes may contribute to a deficient dopaminergic transmission, and whether such disturbances could affect normal encoding of short-term memories in the hippocampus, thus conducing to a decaying cognitive performance. 

According to Hélder Cruz, "the results showed that prolonged pain conditions are responsible for a decrease of spatial memory performance. These conditions are linked to shifts in the activity of hippocampal circuits in charge of processing spatial memory, and to an abnormal expression of dopamine receptors. These results suggest that a disruption in the balance of dopaminergic neurotransmission might play an important role in the appearance of learning and memory disabilities in patients suffering from pain. Eventually, these results may help us understand how pain interacts with other brain circuits in order to reverse those disruptions."

The award cerimony is taking place on July 1st at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon.