Gillian A. Matthews

The paper identifies distinct roles of three DRN dopamine neuron projections in social behavior and affective states through optogenetic and electrophysiological experiments.

This study shows that basal forebrain cholinergic activation modulates amygdala neuron activity based on reward contingency, affecting conditioned behavior but not unconditioned responses.

The paper investigates the role of the MGN-BLA circuit in associative learning, finding that the MGN encodes arousal but not valence, while the BLA encodes both.

The paper shows that acute social isolation leads to midbrain activation similar to hunger, correlating with social craving.