Department of Molecular Neuropharmacology

Scientific profile

  • About department
  • Employees
  • Laboratories

Our research focuses on three areas: the reward system of the brain, the molecular mechanisms of drug action, and neuro-pharmacogenomics.

The reward system of the brain encompasses all brain areas involved in reward-driven behaviors, with the mesolimbic dopamine system at the core. We have been studying the mechanisms involved in the plasticity of dopaminergic and dopaminoceptive neurons, and also the role of endogenous opioids in signaling rewards.

As the name of the Department implies a large part of our research focuses on the cellular and the molecular mechanisms of actions of psychotropic drugs, also with an emphasis on opioids. We hope that elucidating molecular signatures of drug action will lead to the identification of mechanisms essential for their therapeutic effects.

In recent years we have also been involved in neuro-pharmacogenomics, searching for associations between genetic background, neuropsychiatric disorders, and the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy. We use next-generation sequencing to discover novel common as well as rare genetic variants associated with drug effectiveness and safety. This is of particular interest in psychiatry due to large interindividual differences in therapy responses.

Jan Manuel Rodriguez Parkitna

Professor Jan Manuel Rodriguez Parkitna, dr hab.

Head

+48 12 6623316
room 210

Pracownicy zakładu

Professor Ryszard Przewłocki, dr hab.

+48 12 6623218
room 140

Michał Korostyński, dr hab.

+48 12 6623259
room 134

Marcin Piechota, dr

+48 12 6623259
room 134

Ganna Shayakhmetova, dr

Małgorzata Borczyk, dr

Sławomir Gołda, dr

+48 12 6623259
room 134

Zofia Harda, dr

+48 12 6623328
room 127

Alla Voronina, dr

Barbara Ziółkowska, dr hab.

+48 12 6623238
room 131

Łukasz Szumiec, mgr

+48 12 6623328
room 127

Lidia Radwan, mgr

+48 12 6623238
room 140

Jacek Hajto, mgr

+48 12 6623259
room 131

Klaudia Misiołek, mgr

+48 12 6623328
room 127

Magdalena Ziemiańska, mgr

+48 12 6623328
room 127

Mateusz Zięba, mgr

+48 12 6623259
room 131

Pracownicy pracowni

Michał Korostyński, dr hab.

+48 12 6623259
room 134

Marcin Piechota, dr

+48 12 6623259
room 134

Małgorzata Borczyk, dr

Jacek Hajto, mgr

+48 12 6623259
room 131

Mateusz Zięba, mgr

+48 12 6623259
room 131

Laboratory of Pharmacogenomics

Headdr hab. Michał Korostyński

Achievements

  • Publications
  • Grants
  • Awards

Grant

The developmental changes in the endogenous opioid system associated with altered sensitivity to reward during adolescence

Klaudia Misiołek, MSc

Grant

Kappa opioid receptors integrate neuronal signaling involved in social behavior

Professor Jan Manuel Rodriguez Parkitna, PhD

Award

The Jerzy Konorski Team Award for the best study in neurobiology conducted in Poland awarded every year by the Polish Neuroscience Society and Committee of Neurobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Professor Jan Manuel Rodriguez Parkitna, PhD

A Maternal High-Fat Diet during Early Development Provokes Molecular Changes Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Rat Offspring Brain

Kinga Gawlińska, Dawid Gawliński, Małgorzata Borczyk, Michał Korostyński, Edmund Przegaliński, Małgorzata Filip

DOI: 10.3390/nu13093212

Loss of full-length dystrophin expression results in major cell-autonomous abnormalities in proliferating myoblasts

Maxime R. F. Gosselin, Virginie Mournetas, Malgorzata Borczyk, Suraj Verma, Annalisa Occhipinti, Justyna Róg, Lukasz Bozycki, Michal Korostynski, Samuel C. Robson, Claudio Angione, Christian Pinset, Dariusz C. Górecki

DOI: 10.1101/2021.08.24.457331

Comparison of blood pressure values and expression of genes associated with hypertension in children before and after hematopoietic cell transplantation.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88848-7

Toll-like receptor 4-mediated cytokine synthesis and post-stroke depressive symptoms.

DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01359-x

Role of Non-Coding Regulatory Elements in the Control of GR-Dependent Gene Expression.

DOI: 10.3390/ijms22084258

Maternal dietary patterns are associated with susceptibility to a depressive-like phenotype in rat offspring

Gawlińska, K., Gawliński, D., Korostyński, M., Borczyk, M., Frankowska, M., Piechota, M., Filip, M., Przegaliński, E.

DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100879

Effects of l-dopa on gene expression in the frontal cortex of rats with unilateral lesions of midbrain dopaminergic neurons

Radlicka, A., Kamińska, K., Borczyk, M., Piechota, M., Korostyński, M., Pera, J., Lorenc-Koci, E., Parkitna, J.R.

DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0234-20.2020

Two rare variants in plau and bace1 genes—do they contribute to semantic dementia clinical phenotype?

Gaweda-Walerych, K., Sitek, E.J., Borczyk, M., Berdyński, M., Narożańska, E., Brockhuis, B., Korostyński, M., Sławek, J., Zekanowski, C.

DOI: 10.3390/genes12111806

CB2 agonism controls pain and subchondral bone degeneration induced by mono-iodoacetate: Implications GPCR functional bias and tolerance development

Mlost, J., Kostrzewa, M., Borczyk, M., Bryk, M., Chwastek, J., Korostyński, M., Starowicz, K.

DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.111283

Effects of L-DOPA on gene expression in the frontal cortex of rats with unilateral lesion of midbrain dopaminergic neurons

Anna Radlicka, Kinga Kamińska, Malgorzata Borczyk, Marcin Piechota, Michał Korostyński, Joanna Pera, Elżbieta Lorenc-Koci, Jan Rodriguez Parkitna

DOI: 10.1101/2020.04.28.063347

Head

Professor Jan Manuel Rodriguez Parkitna, dr hab.

+48 12 6623316
room 210

See also