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

Delta-opioid receptor antagonism leads to excessive ethanol consumption in mice with enhanced activity of the endogenous opioid system.

Poznanski P, Lesniak A, Korostynski M, Szklarczyk K, Lazarczyk M, Religa P, Bujalska-Zadrozny M, Sadowski B, Sacharczuk M

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.03.016

Blood Transcriptional Signatures for Disease Progression in a Rat Model of Osteoarthritis

Michał Korostyński, Natalia Małek, Marcin Piechota, Katarzyna Starowicz

DOI: 10.1155/2017/1746426

The neuroprotective effects of orthosteric agonists of group II and III mGluRs in primary neuronal cell cultures are dependent on developmental stage.

Jantas D, Gręda A, Gołda S, Korostyński M, Lasoń W

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.09.003

Behavioral and transcriptional patterns of protracted opioid self-administration in mice.

Skupio U, Sikora M, Korostynski M, Wawrzczak-Bargiela A, Piechota M, Ficek J, Przewlocki R

DOI: 10.1111/adb.12449

Contractile properties of motor units and expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms in rat fast-type muscle after volitional weight-lifting training.

Łochyński D, Kaczmarek D, Mrówczyński W, Warchoł W, Majerczak J, Karasiński J, Korostyński M, Zoladz JA, Celichowski J

DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00330.2016

Endogenous opioids regulate glucocorticoid-dependent stress-coping strategies in mice.

Szklarczyk K, Korostynski M, Golda S, Piechota M, Ficek J, Przewlocki R

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.05.034

Molecular profile of dissociative drug ketamine in relation to its rapid antidepressant action.

Ficek J, Zygmunt M, Piechota M, Hoinkis D, Rodriguez Parkitna J, Przewlocki R, Korostynski M

DOI: 10.1186/s12864-016-2713-3

Mechanisms of Attenuation of Pulmonary V'O2 Slow Component in Humans after Prolonged Endurance Training.

Zoladz JA, Majerczak J, Grassi B, Szkutnik Z, Korostyński M, Gołda S, Grandys M, Jarmuszkiewicz W, Kilarski W, Karasinski J, Korzeniewski B

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154135

Kainic Acid Induces mTORC1-Dependent Expression of Elmo1 in Hippocampal Neurons.

Blazejczyk M, Macias M, Korostynski M, Firkowska M, Piechota M, Skalecka A, Tempes A, Koscielny A, Urbanska M, Przewlocki R, Jaworski J

DOI: 10.1007/s12035-016-9821-6

Seqinspector: position-based navigation through the ChIP-seq data landscape to identify gene expression regulators.

Piechota M, Korostynski M, Ficek J, Tomski A, Przewlocki R

DOI: 10.1186/s12859-016-0938-4

Head

Professor Jan Manuel Rodriguez Parkitna, dr hab.

+48 12 6623316
room 210

See also