Area of Concentration: Neurosciences
Morphofunctional Disorders Associated with the Nervous System
Responsible Professors: Antoniella Gomes, Francisca Cléa, Francisco de Assis Gondim, Glauce Viana, Mariana Vale, and Reinaldo Oriá
This research line focuses on the ongoing study of morphofunctional changes in the nervous system using animal models of global or focal cerebral ischemia to evaluate hippocampal alterations. These are assessed through markers for apoptosis, neurogenesis, and neuronal viability. The research also explores morphofunctional aspects related to the use of psychoactive substances such as cocaine, ethanol, ketamine, nicotine, anti-obesity drugs, and others, as well as disorders like Parkinson’s disease, anxiety, depression, seizures, psychosis, and schizophrenia.
The effects of natural and synthetic products on the central nervous system and the mechanisms underlying central adverse reactions to these substances are analyzed using cellular and tissue biology and imaging techniques. This includes studying dysautonomia induced by chemotherapeutic agents or spinal cord injury (SCI) in animal models, focusing on morphological and neurotransmitter alterations in enteric nervous system cells.
The research also investigates inflammatory, neuropathic, and nociplastic pain, focusing on the morphofunctional aspects in experimental models. The role of endocannabinoids in modulating myofascial pain of the masticatory muscles is studied in models of emotional stress and sleep deprivation. Additionally, mechanisms involved in trigeminal neuralgia and temporomandibular joint pain are analyzed using experimental models.
Clinically, the research investigates neurocysticercosis (NCC) through neuroimaging (cranial CT and MRI) and correlates these findings with histopathological results from autopsies of patients with this condition. Finally, it examines the morphofunctional aspects of hereditary neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases present in Ceará, utilizing clinical and electrodiagnostic assessments and biopsies to evaluate molecular and cellular alterations.
