Serge H. Ahmed

This study shows that nicotine escalation in rats leads to increased drug-seeking and relapse vulnerability, with no significant sex differences.

This study shows that pre-existing attentional deficits predict nicotine intake escalation in rats, and withdrawal from nicotine causes attentional deficits that are reversed by acute nicotine.

The paper identifies brain regions associated with preference for sweet water over cocaine in rats using fos mapping, showing cocaine induces more global activation but saccharin activates regions related to taste and reward delay.

This study tests whether cocaine tolerance prevents a preference shift toward cocaine during choice trials, finding that tolerance does not block this shift.

The paper shows that resistance to punishment in cocaine use is not stable, as rats become less resistant after retesting and suppress intake with lower punishment intensity.

The paper identifies miR-3594-5p as a drug-specific marker for late-stage heroin intake escalation by showing its regulation of SEZ6 in the dorsal striatum of rats.

This study reconciles the dopamine hypothesis of addiction with cocaine choice behavior by showing pharmacokinetics, not pharmacodynamics, determines reward preference in rats.