Samar Nasser Chehimi

Volitional cocaine taking engages distinct medium spiny neuron and astrocyte transcriptional programs in the rat nucleus accumbens

This study identifies cell type-specific transcriptional changes in the rat nucleus accumbens following voluntary cocaine self-administration using single-nucleus RNA sequencing.

Early resource scarcity drives persistent transcriptional changes and vascular remodeling in the female prefrontal cortex

This study identifies female-specific vascular transcriptional changes and structural remodeling in the adult mPFC following early resource scarcity using snRNAseq and 3D vascular reconstruction.

Convergent state-control of endogenous opioid analgesia

The paper identifies a functional dichotomy in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray, showing that micro opioid receptor neurons encode nociceptive states while enkephalin-releasing neurons drive pain relief in various contexts.

Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits

The paper identifies a cortical circuit in mice modulated by opioids and develops a gene therapy to mimic opioid analgesia for chronic pain.

Ventral hippocampus neurons encode meal-related memory

The paper identifies ventral hippocampus neurons that encode meal-related memories and shows their role in spatial memory and feeding behavior.

A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of medium spiny neurons in the rat nucleus accumbens

The paper analyzes single-nucleus RNA sequencing data from rat nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons to identify transcriptomic subtypes and their potential roles in substance use disorders.

A nociceptive amygdala-striatal pathway for chronic pain aversion

This study identifies a BLAnoci ensemble in the basolateral amygdala that mediates both acute and chronic pain behavior through a novel amygdala-striatal circuit involving the nucleus accumbens shell.