Research

Dr. Cordeira uses research to teach and engage students in a neuroscience laboratory. Lab members have presented original research at local, regional and national conferences. Our research is published in peer-reviewed, professional journals.

Neurobiological mechanisms of motivated feeding behavior

Cordeira lab research focuses on the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that drive motivated feeding in mice. To better capture natural food-seeking behavior, we recently developed the progressive digging (PD) task, in which mice retrieve buried food rewards by digging through progressively deeper layers of bedding. This task provides a sensitive, reliable measure of effort-based motivation that complements traditional operant approaches. Cordeira lab research also shows that voluntary exercise reshapes feeding patterns, reducing high-fat food intake, altering meal structure, and influencing energy balance (Cordeira & Monahan 2019; Cordeira 2025). By continuing to study how exercise and effort shape feeding, we hope to reveal the brain mechanisms that guide food choices and motivated behavior.