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Sâmia Joca

Joca Lab - Translational Neuropharmacology

How pscyhoactive drugs affect our brain to regulate mood, motivation and cognitive aspects associated with stress-related psychiatric disorders (e.g. depression and anxiety)? How can we use this information to understand disease neurobiology and foster the development of improved therapeutic for mental disorders?

These are some of the questions that our group is trying to answer. Our research focus is the mechanism of action of psychoactive drugs, primarly antidepressants, examining how these unique molecules influence neural plasticity, stress responses, and emotional regulation. We are particularly interested in understanding how lipid mediators, such as endocannabinoids, affect neuroplasticity and behavior.

We use translational approaches combining animal models of stress-related psychiatric disorders, in vitro models for drug testing (primary and immortalized cell cultures), molecular biology methods for protein and mRNA quantification, evaluation of drug-receptor interactions, neurochemical analysis (neurotransmitters and lipid mediators), and microscopy (immunofluorescence, confocal). We collaborate with different groups at Aarhus University and abroad to tackle our research questions with different methodological approaches and perspectives.

News


Novo Nordisk Foundation honours MBG-researchers for excellence in science education

Magnus Kjærgaard (back right) together with his two colleagues Gregers Rom Andersen (middle left) and Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen (front) Photo: Flemming Leitorp/Novo Nordisk Fonden
- Grants and awards

DANDRITE Senior Group Leader Magnus Kjærgaard is among three lecturers from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics who are being honoured…

DANDRITE welcomes a new Chair of the Executive Board

Nanna Brix Finnerup is a Lundbeck Foundation Professor and Chair of the Danish Pain Research Center Credit: AU Photo
- People news

With the new chairperson, DANDRITE aims to maintain strong clinical representation on the board.

DANDRITE-lab discovers invisible protein clumps, changing our understanding of Parkinson’s Disease

Nanna Møller Jensen is a postdoc and first-author of the two articles.  Photo: Benedicte Vestergaard, DANDRITE
- Research

New research from DANDRITE-lab suggests that we may have been looking for the wrong markers in the brain when trying to understand and treat…