Lauren M. Reynolds

This study shows that dopaminergic activity in the ventral tegmental area shapes social roles and labor division in mouse triads through competitive and cooperative strategies.

The paper shows nicotine inhibits amygdala-projecting dopamine neurons via a VTA-NAc feedback loop, leading to anxiety.

This study shows that adolescent nicotine exposure disrupts dopamine circuit development, leading to adult vulnerability to nicotine, which can be reversed by restoring dopamine pathway balance.

The paper studies individual differences in reward-seeking behavior among isogenic mice in a social environment and links these differences to nicotine response and dopaminergic adaptability.

This study shows that amphetamine exposure in adolescence causes sex-specific changes in dopamine axon growth via Netrin-1/DCC signaling, with male mice showing increased vulnerability.

This study shows chronic nicotine exposure shifts decision-making strategies toward increased exploitation in a foraging task, with optogenetic manipulation of dopamine neurons replicating this effect.

This study identifies distinct dopamine circuits in the ventral tegmental area that mediate nicotine's reinforcing and anxiogenic effects through opposing responses in neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens and amygdala.