Author

Carlos A. Mejías-Aponte

National Institutes of HealthORCID 0000-0002-6909-1831Unclaimed ORCID profile · follow to get notified of new preprints

Biology Disciplines

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Neuroscience· 3

Signature Assays, Organisms & Methods

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Approach:experimental assay· 3 Organism:rat· 2 Organism:human· 1 Assay:imaging· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Aaron TaniD· 1 shared Akeem Henry· 1 shared Aleksandr TalishinskyiD· 1 shared Amaya Kelly· 1 shared Andrew J. KesneriD· 1 shared Anne F. PierceiD· 1 shared Ashley Batista· 1 shared Audrey F. SeasholtziD· 1 shared

Activity by Year

2020-2026 · peak 1/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 13 mutual co-author links

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1 shared paperNeuroscience

Aaron TanORCID

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3 papers

Recent·Most cited

Unique mushroom spine morphology signature in cocaine relapse ensembles in rat nucleus accumbens core

Francisco Javier Rubio, Emem Ukpong, Rajtarun Madangopal, Daniel Olivares, Elias Hilaire, Akeem Henry, Amaya Kelly, Louisa F. Kane, Carlos A. Mejías-Aponte, Bruce T. Hope

The paper identifies a unique mushroom spine morphology signature in rat nucleus accumbens core neurons selectively activated during cocaine relapse.

bioRxiv · Jul 20, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

Effect of selective lesions of nucleus accumbens μ-opioid receptor-expressing cells on heroin self-administration in male and female rats: a study with novel Oprm1-Cre knock-in rats

Jennifer M. Bossert, Carlos A. Mejías-Aponte, Thomas L. Saunders, Lindsay Altidor, Michael A. Emery, Ida Fredriksson, Ashley Batista, Sarah M. Claypool, Kiera E. Caldwell, David J. Reiner, Jonathan J. Chow, Matthew Foltz, Vivek Kumar, Audrey F. Seasholtz, Elizabeth Hughes, , Yavin Shaham

This study introduces a CRISPR-based Oprm1-Cre knock-in rat to investigate the role of nucleus accumbens MOR-expressing cells in heroin self-administration, finding sex-specific effects on acquisition and effort.

Journal of Neuroscience · Jan 30, 2023Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Medial Prefrontal Cortex Interacts with the Anteromedial Thalamus in Motivation and Dopaminergic Activity

Yang Chen, Yuzheng Hu, Aleksandr Talishinsky, Christian T. Potter, Leslie A. Ramsey, Andrew J. Kesner, Reuben F. Don, Sue Junn, Aaron Tan, Anne F. Pierce, Céline Nicolas, Coleman B. Calva, Conghui Su, Carlos A. Mejías-Aponte, Dong V. Wang, , Satoshi Ikemoto

The paper identifies a cortico-thalamic loop between the medial prefrontal cortex and anteromedial thalamus that regulates motivation, reinforcement, and dopaminergic activity through reciprocal connectivity and feedback.

bioRxiv · May 19, 2020 · PreprintNeuroscience