Joana Goncalves-Ribeiro

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in cognitive functions such as working memory. Astrocytic cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) induces cytosolic calcium (Ca) concentration changes with an impact on...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease, involving the selective degeneration of cortical upper synapses in the primary motor cortex (M1). Excitotoxicity in ALS occurs due to an imbalance...

Reactive astrocytes in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) change their molecular expression pattern and release toxic factors that contribute to neurodegeneration and microglial activation. We and others identified a dysregulated inflammatory...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the foremost cause of global disability, being responsible for enormous personal, societal, and economical costs. Importantly, existing pharmacological treatments for MDD are partially or totally...

Caffeine, a stimulant largely consumed around the world, is a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist, and therefore caffeine actions at synapses usually, but not always, mirror those of adenosine. Importantly, different...

Excitotoxicity is a phenomenon that describes the toxic actions of excitatory neurotransmitters, primarily glutamate, where the exacerbated or prolonged activation of glutamate receptors starts a cascade of neurotoxicity that ultimately...

Glutamate uptake is a process mediated by sodium-dependent glutamate transporters, preventing glutamate spillover from the synapse. Typically, astrocytes express higher amounts of glutamate transporters, thus being responsible for most of...