Pierre-Paul Rompré

Glutamate NMDA receptors containing GluN2C subunit relay the reward signal of the ventral tegmental area upon dorsal raphe stimulation

The paper identifies GluN2C NMDA receptors in the VTA as critical for relaying reward signals from DR stimulation, showing reduced reward with GluN2C downregulation and increased reward with NMDA antagonist.

Optogenetic activation of basolateral amygdala projections to nucleus accumbens core promotes cue-induced expectation of reward but not instrumental pursuit of cues

This study shows that optogenetic activation of BLA[->]NAc core neurons increases cue-induced approach behavior but not instrumental pursuit of cues, indicating a role in reward expectation rather than cue wanting.