Where Ideas Grow
Hélder Cruz
Pain Neurobiology
Associate Researcher

Cardoso-Cruz H is a researcher at the i3S and Oporto Medicine Faculty (FMUP). His research interest is the relationship between pain and cognitive functions, namely the prefrontal-hippocampus dynamics during working-memory processing. His research involves an interdisciplinary approach, combining in-vivo electrophysiology techniques, behavior evaluation, optogenetics brain stimulation, development of analytical tools for the study of neuronal dynamics, and design and implementation of algorithms for decoding neuronal data. 

Selected Publications

Cardoso-Cruz H., Lima D., Galhardo V.,
Impaired spatial memory performance in a rat model of neuropathic pain is associated with reduced hippocampus-prefrontal cortex connectivity. Journal of Neuroscience33(6):2465-2480, 2013. [Journal: Article] [CI: 94] [IF: 6,7]
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5197-12.2013 SCOPUS: 84873294842.


Cardoso-Cruz H., Sousa M., Vieira J.B., Lima D., Galhardo V.,
Prefrontal cortex and mediodorsal thalamus reduced connectivity is associated with spatial working memory impairment in rats with inflammatory pain. Pain154(11):2397-2406, 2013. [Journal: Article] [CI: 65] [IF: 5,8]
DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2013.07.020 SCOPUS: 84886313692.


Cardoso-Cruz H., Dourado M., Monteiro C., Matos M.R., Galhardo V.,
Activation of dopaminergic D2/D3 receptors modulates dorsoventral connectivity in the hippocampus and reverses the impairment of working memory after nerve injury. Journal of Neuroscience34(17):5861-5873, 2014. [Journal: Article] [CI: 30] [IF: 6,3]
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0021-14.2014 SCOPUS: 84899483174.


Cardoso-Cruz H., Paiva P., Monteiro C., Galhardo V.,
Selective optogenetic inhibition of medial prefrontal glutamatergic neurons reverses working memory deficits induced by neuropathic pain. Pain160(4):805-823, 2019. [Journal: Article] [CI: 14] [IF: 5,5]
DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001457 SCOPUS: 85063251954.


Monteiro C., Cardoso-Cruz H., Matos M., Dourado M., Lima D., Galhardo V.,
Increased fronto-hippocampal connectivity in the Prrxl1 knockout mouse model of congenital hypoalgesia. Pain157(9):2045-2056, 2016. [Journal: Article] [CI: 7] [IF: 5,4]
DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000611 SCOPUS: 84984605078.


Silva A., Cardoso-Cruz H., Silva F., Galhardo V., Antunes L.,
Comparison of anesthetic depth indexes based on thalamocortical local field potentials in rats. Anesthesiology112(2):355-363, 2010. [Journal: Article] [CI: 59] [IF: 5,5]
DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181ca3196 SCOPUS: 77449114783.


Cardoso-Cruz H., Paiva P., Monteiro C., Galhardo V.,
Bidirectional optogenetic modulation of prefrontal-hippocampal connectivity in pain-related working memory deficits. Scientific Reports9(1):, 2019. [Journal: Article] [CI: 14] [IF: 4]
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47555-0 SCOPUS: 85069907317.


Alemi M., Pereira A.R., Cerqueira-Nunes M., Monteiro C., Galhardo V., Cardoso-Cruz H.,
Role of Glutamatergic Projections from Lateral Habenula to Ventral Tegmental Area in Inflammatory Pain-Related Spatial Working Memory Deficits. Biomedicines11(3):, 2023. [Journal: Article] [CI: 1] [IF: 4,7 (*)]
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11030820 SCOPUS: 85151966729.


Cardoso-Cruz H., Laranjeira I., Monteiro C., Galhardo V.,
Altered prefrontal-striatal theta-band oscillatory dynamics underlie working memory deficits in neuropathic pain rats. European Journal of Pain (United Kingdom)26(7):1546-1568, 2022. [Journal: Article] [CI: 3] [IF: 3,6]
DOI: 10.1002/ejp.1982 SCOPUS: 85130800017.


Rodrigues D., Monteiro C., Cardoso-Cruz H., Galhardo V.,
Altered Brain Expression of DNA Methylation and Hydroxymethylation Epigenetic Enzymes in a Rat Model of Neuropathic Pain. International Journal of Molecular Sciences24(8):, 2023. [Journal: Article] [CI: 4] [IF: 5,6 (*)]
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087305 SCOPUS: 85156227212.