Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Cocaine sensitization and accumbens shell plasticity depend on biological sex and gonadal hormones in C57BL/6J mice

This study shows that biological sex and gonadal hormones influence cocaine-induced behavioral and neuronal plasticity in mice, with males and females showing distinct responses.

Top-down control of sustained attention by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)- locus coeruleus (LC) circuit during the rodent continuous performance task (rCPT)

This study investigates the role of the mPFC-LC circuit in sustained attention using chemogenetic manipulation in mice, finding that selective activation of mPFC-LC projectors improves attentional performance through distinct neural mechanisms.

Phasic dopamine encodes persistent attraction to reward cues

This study shows that cue-evoked dopamine in the nucleus accumbens persists despite reward loss, encoding incentive salience rather than reward outcome.

Activation of Infralimbic cortex neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens shell suppresses discriminative stimulus-triggered relapse to cocaine seeking in rats

This study shows that activating infralimbic cortex to nucleus accumbens shell projections reduces relapse to cocaine seeking in rats triggered by discriminative stimuli.

Behavioral orienting but not novelty activates dopamine neurons

The paper shows that dopamine neurons are activated by orienting behaviors, not novelty itself, and identifies the mediodorsal pons as a key input source for this activation.

Dynamic Changes in Chloride Homeostasis Coordinate Midbrain Inhibitory Network Activity during Reward Learning

This study shows that during reward learning, reduced KCC2 in midbrain GABA neurons alters network activity and dopamine responses, essential for forming new reward associations.

Chronic delivery of buprenorphine during abstinence decreases incubation of heroin seeking and neuronal activation in medial prefrontal cortex and striatum in male and female rats

This study shows chronic buprenorphine reduces heroin seeking incubation and decreases neuronal activation in specific brain regions in rats.

Behavioral Opportunism and Altered Dopamine Dynamics in Mice Exposed to Early Life Adversity

This study investigates how early life adversity in mice affects reward processing and behavior, finding altered dopamine dynamics and behavioral opportunism.

Amphetamine in Adolescence Induces a Sex-Specific Mesolimbic Dopamine Phenotype in the Adult Prefrontal Cortex

This study shows that adolescent amphetamine exposure causes sex-specific changes in mesolimbic dopamine axons and PFC dopamine transporter expression in adulthood, with males showing increased vulnerability to drug effects.

Striatal spinophilin enhances D2R interaction with cytosolic proteins to mediate persistent D2R agonist-induced locomotor suppression.

This study shows that spinophilin enhances D2R interaction with cytosolic proteins, contributing to D2R agonist-induced locomotor suppression in Parkinson's disease.

Changes in social reward across adolescence in male mice

This study shows that social reward in male mice decreases during mid-adolescence, mirroring human developmental patterns.

Need-selective gating of dopamine neuron cue responses by real and virtual hunger

This study shows that dopamine neuron responses to food and water cues are modulated by internal state, with hunger-specific amplification of food cue responses.

Locus Coeruleus Norepinephrine Neurons Facilitate Orbitofrontal Cortex Remapping and Behavioral Flexibility

This study shows that locus coeruleus norepinephrine neurons regulate orbitofrontal cortex cognitive map stability and behavioral flexibility through bidirectional signaling.

Cocaine and Morphine Converge to Disrupt Chloride Homeostasis in Ventral Tegmental Area GABA Neurons

This study shows that cocaine and morphine disrupt chloride homeostasis in VTA GABA neurons by downregulating KCC2, with effects lasting up to 30 days after morphine self-administration.

A non-canonical top-down pathway regulating relapse to opioid

This study identifies a non-canonical top-down pathway involving RSGGlu-Cckbr-ZIGABA circuit that regulates relapse to opioid.

Serotonin modulates nucleus accumbens circuits to suppress aggression

This study identifies a mechanism by which serotonin suppresses aggression by modulating nucleus accumbens circuits in mice.

Fundamental Sex Differences in Cocaine-Induced Plasticity of D1R- and D2R-MSNs in the Mouse Nucleus Accumbens Core

This study investigates sex and estrous cycle differences in cocaine-induced changes to D1R- and D2R-MSN excitability in the mouse nucleus accumbens core, finding significant sex-specific effects.

Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence

This study shows that VTA GABA neurons encode both appetitive and aversive stimuli and are critical for decision-making in motivational conflicts.

Contextual unfamiliarity during drug intake induces transient AMPA receptors linked to relapse vulnerability

This study shows that contextual unfamiliarity after drug administration increases CP-AMPAR expression in the nucleus accumbens, which transiently influences relapse vulnerability in mice.

Sex-and Stress-Dependent Plasticity of a Corticotropin Releasing Hormone / GABA Projection from the Basolateral Amygdala to Nucleus Accumbens that Mediates Reward Behaviors

The paper investigates sex- and stress-dependent plasticity of a CRH/GABA projection from the BLA to NAc, showing differential effects on reward behaviors in males and females.

Epigenetic editing of Cartpt promotes acquisition and extinction of cocaine memory

The paper uses CRISPR-based epigenetic editing to manipulate Cartpt expression in mice, showing it affects cocaine memory acquisition and extinction.

Effect of morphine dependence and withdrawal on operant social interaction in male and female rats

This study examines how morphine dependence and withdrawal affect operant social interaction in rats, finding that dependence reduces social interaction while withdrawal does not, and that pharmacological interventions targeting KOR, serotonin, or dopamine fail to reverse this effect.

Subtype-Specific Roles of Nigrostriatal Dopaminergic Neurons in Motor and Associative Learning

This study investigates the functional roles of two nigrostriatal dopaminergic neuron subtypes in motor and associative learning using genetic and chemogenetic approaches in mice.

A ventral hippocampus to nucleus accumbens pathway regulates impulsivity

This study identifies a hippocampal-striatal circuit that regulates impulsive action in male rats, using chemogenetic and fiber photometry approaches.

The influence of nucleus accumbens shell D1 and D2 neurons on outcome-specific Pavlovian instrumental transfer

This study investigates the role of D1 and D2 neurons in the nucleus accumbens shell in stimulus-based decision-making using optogenetics in rats.

Cornichon Homolog-3 (Cnih3) deletion impairs spatial memory, reward-cue association, and fentanyl self-administration behavior.

This study shows that Cnih3 deletion in mice impairs spatial memory, reward-cue association, and fentanyl self-administration, with potential sex-specific effects on opioid use.

Characterisation of a touchscreen-based Go/No Go task for assessing cognitive judgement bias in mice: a new translational tool for affective state disorder drug screening.

This paper develops a touchscreen-based Go/No Go task to assess cognitive judgement bias in mice, showing that bupropion induces optimism while tetrabenazine induces pessimism.

Topological basal ganglia model with dopamine-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity reproduces reinforcement learning, discriminatory learning, and neuropsychiatric disorders

This paper presents a spiking model of the basal ganglia with dopamine-modulated plasticity that simulates reinforcement learning, discrimination, and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Basolateral Amygdala Projections to the Prelimbic Cortex Suppress the Motivational Value of Reward-Associated Cues

This study investigates the role of BLA projections in DS- and CS-guided reward seeking, finding that BLA[->]PrL projections suppress motivational value of reward-associated cues.

Genetic and Epigenetic Factors Influencing Methamphetamine Addiction and Aggressive Behavior among Iraqi Adult men

The paper examines methylation patterns in SLC6A4 and COMT genes in Iraqi men with methamphetamine addiction and aggression, finding higher methylation levels and correlations with dopamine and drug use.