Anne F. Pierce

The paper extends the VERTEX tool to simulate diverse neural stimulation techniques, including electric and optogenetic methods, enabling comprehensive testing of stimulation protocols.

This study shows that dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens differs between interactions with pair bonded partners and novel voles, reflecting the selective nature of pair bonds.

PhAT provides a GUI-driven open-source toolkit for photometry analysis, offering signal normalization, event alignment, fluorescence comparison, and modular development.

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.

The paper shows that insular cortex mediates approach and avoidance behaviors in rats responding to stressed conspecifics, with oxytocin playing a key role.