Postdoc Knockout

As a postdoctoral researcher in the Affective Brains Lab, I explore how the human endogenous opioid system shapes reward, stress, and related health outcomes, with a particular interest in overconsumption and hedonic food intake. To support this research, I have secured two postdoctoral grants from Helse Sør-Øst and Vestre Viken, developed together with Siri Leknes.

My background is in cognitive neuroscience, with experience studying gut–brain interactions and reward processing. I’m especially fascinated by how opioids influence reward sensitivity and drive overconsumption. I completed my PhD at University Hospital Bonn, where I focused on vagus nerve stimulation and its effects on noradrenergic pathways and gut–brain communication.

email: cecilia.vezzani@psykologi.uio.no

Bluesky: @cecivez.bsky.social