Bita Moghaddam

Psilocybin asymmetrically modulates outcome-based choice and cortical processing under uncertainty

This study shows psilocybin enhances choice selection in uncertain contexts by altering cortical processing to prioritize positive information over previous actions.

Reward and punishment contingency shifting reveals distinct roles for VTA dopamine and GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility

This study examines how VTA dopamine and GABA neurons adapt to reward and punishment contingency shifts in rats, revealing distinct roles in behavioral flexibility.

Adolescent alcohol consumption produces long term alterations in response inhibition and orbitofrontal-striatal activity in a sex-specific manner

This study shows that adolescent alcohol exposure leads to sex-specific changes in response inhibition and orbitofrontal-striatal activity, with increased adult alcohol consumption in males.

Reduction of Grin2a in adolescent rat dopamine neurons confers a phenotype relevant to psychosis

This study shows that reducing Grin2a in adolescent rat dopamine neurons leads to psychosis-like behaviors and dopamine signaling abnormalities relevant to schizophrenia.

Complementary roles of orbitofrontal and prelimbic cortices in adaptation of reward motivated actions to learned anxiety.

This study investigates the distinct roles of prelimbic and lateral orbitofrontal cortices in adapting reward-motivated actions to learned anxiety through behavioral and neuronal activity analysis.

Acute psilocybin enhances cognitive flexibility in rats

This study shows acute psilocybin improves cognitive flexibility in rats by enhancing switching between learned strategies, with effects mediated by 5HT2A receptors.

Learning of probabilistic punishment as a model of anxiety produces changes in action but not punishment encoding in the dmPFC and VTA

This study examines neural changes in dmPFC and VTA during probabilistic punishment learning and anxiolytic treatment in rats, finding adaptive responses independent of punishment experience.

Adolescent dopamine neurons represent reward differently during action and state guided learning

This study shows that adolescent dopamine neurons in rats respond differently to reward in Pavlovian and operant conditioning, suggesting distinct motivational processes.

Dopamine modulation of prefrontal cortex activity is manifold and operates at multiple temporal and spatial scales

This study shows dopamine modulates prefrontal cortex activity across multiple spatio-temporal scales through different firing patterns and behavioral states.

Burst Activation Of Dopamine Neurons Produces Prolonged Post-Burst Availability Of Actively Released Dopamine

The paper shows that burst activation of VTA dopamine neurons leads to prolonged dopamine availability in brain regions, mediated by Rho-mediated dopamine transporter internalization.

Efficient sorting of single-unit activity from midbrain cells using KiloSort is as accurate as manual sorting.

This study compares manual and KiloSort-based sorting of single-unit activity from midbrain recordings, finding KiloSort to be equally accurate but more efficient.

Discrete and coordinated encoding of punishment contingent on rewarded actions by prefrontal cortex and VTA

The paper investigates how prefrontal cortex and VTA encode punishment contingent on rewarded actions, finding coordinated neural activity and theta oscillations during the task.

Networks of VTA neurons encode real-time information about uncertain numbers of actions executed to earn a reward

The paper investigates how VTA neurons encode information about the number of actions needed to earn a reward, revealing ensemble coding and functional connectivity patterns.