Research Focus Areas

Pushing the Boundaries of Addiction Science

The lab conducts theory-driven, methodologically rigorous research on addiction, integrating experimental paradigms with advanced statistical modeling and multimodal neuroimaging to investigate the neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying substance use and relapse.

Why do some people become addicted to drugs while others do not?

Why do some people become addicted to drugs while others do not?

Individual differences in genetic, neurobiological, and psychosocial vulnerability interact with environmental exposures to determine susceptibility to addiction.

vulnerability reward sensitivity cognitive control
What are the effects of drugs on the brain?

What are the effects of drugs on the brain?

Drugs of abuse induce acute and chronic neuroadaptations in reward, salience, and cognitive control circuits that alter motivation and behavior.

neuroadaptation dopamine reward circuitry
Why is it so difficult to change addictive behaviors and recover from addiction?

Why is it so difficult to change addictive behaviors and recover from addiction?

Persistent dysregulation of motivational and executive systems, coupled with conditioned cues and stress reactivity, sustains compulsive use and relapse risk.

relapse craving reward dysregulation

Meet Our Team

Principal Investigator

Dr. Jorge Martins

Dr. Jorge Martins

Principal Investigator & Lab Director

Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Sara Félix

Dr. Sara Félix

Postdoctoral Researcher

PhD Students

Cláudia Graça

Cláudia Graça

Ph.D Student

Research Coordinator

Catarina Silva

Catarina Silva

Research Coordinator

Research Assistants

Catarina Matos

Catarina Matos

Research Assistant

João Tiago

João Tiago

Research Assistant

Active Research Projects
Neural Markers of Reward Dysregulation in Alcoholism Relapse Prediction featured image

Neural Markers of Reward Dysregulation in Alcoholism Relapse Prediction

This project aims to identify neurobiological and cognitive-behavioral markers of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and evaluate their utility for predicting relapse after treatment. The …

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Dr. Jorge Martins
Social Context, Drinking Motives, and Alcohol Motivation featured image

Social Context, Drinking Motives, and Alcohol Motivation

Examining how social exclusion and social inclusion shape neural alcohol cue reactivity, implicit approach tendencies, laboratory alcohol consumption, and 15-day daily drinking as …

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Dr. Jorge Martins
Developing and Validating a Scale to Assess Differential Valuation of Substance-Related Rewards Versus Natural and Other Non-Drug Rewards in Addiction featured image

Developing and Validating a Scale to Assess Differential Valuation of Substance-Related Rewards Versus Natural and Other Non-Drug Rewards in Addiction

Developing and validating a new psychological assessment scale to measure the differential valuation of substance-related rewards versus natural rewards and other non-drug …

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Dr. Jorge Martins
Stress, Sleep, and Autonomic Dysregulation in Alcohol Use Disorder featured image

Stress, Sleep, and Autonomic Dysregulation in Alcohol Use Disorder

Investigating the role of Autonomic Nervous System regulation in shaping sleep quality across the spectrum of alcohol use, from moderate consumption to Alcohol Use Disorder.

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Dr. Jorge Martins
The Role of Reward Deficits in Vulnerability to Alcohol Addiction featured image

The Role of Reward Deficits in Vulnerability to Alcohol Addiction

Investigating whether individual differences in reward processing deficits contribute to vulnerability to alcohol addiction by increasing susceptibility to incentive salience …

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Dr. Jorge Martins
TMS in Modulating Brain Reward Circuity featured image

TMS in Modulating Brain Reward Circuity

Investigating the Use of TMS in Modulating Brain Responses to Rewards Associated with Alcohol and Natural Rewards

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Dr. Jorge Martins

ADDICT-RESPONSE: Neural and Cognitive Mechanisms of Response Inhibition in Addiction

An FCT-funded project investigating the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying impaired response inhibition in individuals with alcohol and substance use disorders.

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Dr. Jorge Martins
Recent Publications

Disclaimer: The PDF files made available on this page are provided for personal use and academic purposes only, in accordance with applicable copyright regulations. They may not be used for commercial purposes or redistributed without permission. The final, authoritative versions of all publications are available through the respective publishers' websites.

Freeman, C., Radoman, M., Martins, J. S., Lacadie, C., Seo, D., & Sinha, R. (in press). Sex differences in neural stress and alcohol cue related activation and subjective alcohol craving in binge versus light-moderate drinkers. Neuropsychopharmacology.

Gomes, N., Benrós, M. F., Martins, J. S., & Semin, G. R. (2025). Sweating It Out: A Data-Driven Approach Revealing How Sex and Emotions Shape Sweat Production. Biological Psychology.

Dongju, S., Martins, J. S., & Sinha, R. (2024). Brain correlates and functional connectivity linking stress, autonomic dysregulation, and alcohol motivation. Neurobiology of Stress.

Wemm, S. E., Martins, J. S., Fogelman, N., Max, G., & Sinha, R. (2023). Patients with AUD exhibit dampened heart rate variability during sleep as compared to social drinkers. Alcohol & Alcoholism, 1–10.

Choi, J. J., Martins, J. S., Hwang, S., Kim, K., Sinha, R., & Seo, D. (2022). Neural Correlates of Trauma Are Associated with Physical Health Symptoms. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.

Martins, J. S., Fogelman, N., Wemm, S., Hwang, S. & Sinha, R. (2022). Alcohol craving and withdrawal at treatment entry prospectively predict alcohol use outcomes during outpatient treatment. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 231, 109253.

Martins, J. S., Joyner, K. J., McCarthy, D. M., Morris, D. H., Patrick, C. J., & Bartholow, B.D. (2021). Differential Brain Responses to Alcohol-Related and Natural Rewards is Associated with Alcohol Use and Problems: Evidence for Reward Dysregulation. Addiction Biology, 27(2), e13118.

Hwang, S., Martins, J. S., Douglas, R., Choi, J., Sinha, R., Seo, D. (2021). Irregular Autonomic Modulation Predicts Risky Drinking and Altered Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Response to Stress in Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 1–9.

Cofresí, U. R., Watts, A. L., Martins, J. S., Wood, P. K., Sher, K. J., Cowan, N., Miyake, A., & Bartholow, B. D. (2021). Acute Effect of Alcohol on Working Memory Updating: A Latent Variable Analysis. Addiction, 116, 3029–3043.

Martin, J. L., Ferreira, J. A., Haase, R. F., Martens, M. P., Coelho, M., Martins, J. S., Jome, L. M., & Santos, E. R. (2020). The Influence of Personality and Drinking Motives on College Student Binge Drinking in the US and Portugal. European Journal of Health Psychology, 27, 30–42.

Von Gunten, C. D., Bartholow, B. D., Martins, J. S. (2020). Inhibition Tasks Are Not Associated with a Variety of Behaviours in College Students. European Journal of Personality, 34, 412–430.

Martins, J. S., Bartholow, B. D, Cooper, M. L., Irving, K. M., & Piasecki, T.M. (2019). Interactive Effects of Naturalistic Drinking Context and Alcohol Sensitivity on Neural Alcohol Cue-Reactivity Responses. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 43, 1777–1789.

Miller, A. P., Gizer, I. R., Fleming, W. A., Otto, J. M., Deak, J. D., Martins, J. S., & Bartholow, B. D. (2019). Polygenic Liability for Schizophrenia Predicts Shifting-specific Executive Function Deficits and Tobacco Use in a Moderate Drinking Community Sample. Psychiatric Research, 279, 47–54.

Bartholow, B. D., Fleming, K. A., Wood, P. K., Cowan, N., Saults, J. S., Altamirano, L., Miyake, A., Martins, J. S., & Sher, K. J. (2018). Alcohol Effects on Response Inhibition: Variability across Tasks and Individuals. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 26, 251–267.

Martins, J. S., Bartholow, B.D, Cooper, M.L., Von Gunten, C., & Wood, P.K. (2018). Associations Between Executive Functioning, Affect-Regulation Drinking Motives, and Alcohol Use and Problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 32, 16–18.

Couture, M. E., Stewart, S. H., Cooper, M. L., Kuntsche, E., O’Connor, R. M., Mackinnon, S. P., & DRINC Team. (2017). The DRINC Project: Rationale and Protocol for a Cross-National Study of Drinking Motives in Undergraduates. The International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research, 6, 7–18. Member of the DRINC Team.

Mackinnon, S. P., Couture, M. E., Cooper, M. L., Kuntsche, E., O’Connor, R. M., Stewart, S. H., & DRINC Team. (2017). Cross‐Cultural Comparisons of Drinking Motives in 10 Countries: Data from the DRINC Project. Drug and Alcohol Review, 36, 721–730. Member of the DRINC Team.

Martin, J. L., Ferreira, J. A., Haase, H. F., Martins, J. S., Coelho, M. (2016). Validation of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised across US and Portuguese College Students. Addictive Behaviors, 60, 58–63.

Cooper, M. L., O’Hara, R. E., & Martins, J. S. (2015). Does Drinking Improve the Quality of Sexual Experience? AIDS and Behavior, 20, 40–51.

Ferreira, J., Martins, J. S., Coelho, M., & Kahler, W. (2014). Validation of Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (B-YAACQ): Portuguese Version. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 17, 1–8.

Martins, J. S., Coelho, M. S., & Ferreira, J. A. (2010). Hábitos de Consumo de Álcool em Estudantes do Ensino Superior Universitário: Alguns Dados Empíricos. Psychologica, 53, 397–411.

Lab News & Updates
Welcome Dr. Sara Félix featured image

Welcome Dr. Sara Félix

NeuroAdx lab welcomes Sara Félix who joins the lab as a Postdoctoral Researcher.

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Dr. Jorge Martins
Welcome to Our New Team Members featured image

Welcome to Our New Team Members

NeuroAdx lab is pleased to announce the expansion of our research team with two new members.

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Dr. Jorge Martins
Collaborators & Partners
Bruce Bartholow

Bruce Bartholow, Ph.D.

The University of Iowa

Rajita Sinha

Rajita Sinha, Ph.D.

Yale University

Jan Theeuwes

Jan Theeuwes, Ph.D.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Mike LePelley

Mike LePelley, Ph.D.

University of New South Wales

Francesco Versace

Francesco Versace, Ph.D.

The University of Texas, Houston

Matt Field

Matt Field, Ph.D.

University of Sheffield

Consultant, ADDICT-RESPONSE

Katie Witkiewitz

Katie Witkiewitz, Ph.D.

University of New Mexico

Consultant, ADDICT-RESPONSE

Rita Goldstein

Rita Goldstein, Ph.D.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Consultant, RELAPSE-PREDICT

Lee Hogarth

Lee Hogarth, Ph.D.

University of Exeter

Consultant, RELAPSE-PREDICT

Contact Us

Get in touch with our research team

Visit Our Lab

Neuro Adx Laboratory

William James Center for Research

ISPA–Instituto Universitário

Rua Jardim do Tabaco, 34

1149-041 Lisboa

Portugal

Office Hours

Lab Meetings: Mondays 10:00–1:00 PM

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Prospective Members

Interested in joining our lab? We're always looking for motivated researchers at all levels.

View Open Positions

Join Our Research Team

We are always looking for talented and motivated students, trainees, and researchers to join our lab. We have openings for Ph.D students, postdoctoral researchers, and research assistants. Please feel free to contact Dr. Jorge Martins directly.