Melissa Malvaez

The paper investigates how dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core is shaped by reward prediction and influences reward-pursuit strategies in rats.

This study shows the anterior cingulate cortex supports persistence toward certain and valuable rewards in both information and effort choices.

The paper tracks and manipulates striatal neuron activity during goal-directed learning and habit formation, finding D1+ neurons maintain stable action representations while A2A+ neurons show transient or slow reorganization.

This study identifies a dual amygdala-striatal pathway architecture by which chronic stress disrupts agency and promotes habit formation in mice.

The paper identifies distinct cortical-amygdala projections that separately encode and retrieve reward value, revealing a new circuit for reward valuation and pursuit.

This study shows that HDAC3 negatively regulates habit formation in the dorsal striatum, with distinct roles in the dorsolateral and dorsomedial striatum.