Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

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.

Individual differences in decision-making shape how mesolimbic dopamine regulates choice confidence and change-of-mind

This study shows that dopamine in the nucleus accumbens reflects decision confidence and future value during re-evaluation and change-of-mind in mice.

Rewarding Value or Prediction Error: Settling the debate over the role of dopamine in reward learning

This study uses computational modeling and optogenetics to show that dopamine neuron stimulation promotes learning, supporting the prediction error hypothesis over the rewarding value hypothesis.

Pentilludin reduces rat amphetamine and remifentail self-administration with good pharmacologic and toxicologic profiles

Pentilludin reduces amphetamine and remifentanil self-administration in rats with no toxic effects at tested doses.

Extracting Value Coding Features from Individual Serotonin Neurons

The paper analyzes serotonergic neuron activity during a dynamic Pavlovian task to estimate reward history and its relation to behavior.

5-HT2C receptors in the nucleus accumbens constrain the rewarding effects of MDMA

This paper investigates how 5-HT2C receptors in the nucleus accumbens modulate MDMA's rewarding effects and prosocial behaviors through interactions with serotonin and dopamine release.

Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, and Retatrutide Attenuate the Interoceptive Effects of Alcohol in Male and Female Rats

This study shows that GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce alcohol's interoceptive effects in rats, supporting their potential as treatments for alcohol use disorder.

Selective engagement of prefrontal VIP neurons in reversal learning

This study investigates the role of VIP neurons in mouse medial prefrontal cortex during reversal learning, finding they are critical for rapid behavioral adjustments but not for incremental learning.

Dopamine release effects on striatal blood oxygenation and whole brain plasticity underlying associative learning

This study shows that dopamine release dynamics in the nucleus accumbens correlate with blood oxygenation responses during associative learning, revealing a link between dopamine signaling and brain-wide plasticity.

Striatal Gradient in Value-Decay Explains Regional Differences in Dopamine Patterns and Reinforcement Learning Computations

Different dopaminergic circuits defined by D2/D3 receptor availablity patterns show structure-specific links to memory in ageing

This study links dopamine receptor availability in specific brain regions to memory performance in older adults, identifying distinct dopaminergic circuits associated with different memory outcomes.

No neurobehavioral evidence for reduced motivational potential of social rewards in alcohol use disorder

This study finds no evidence of reduced motivation for social or monetary rewards in individuals with alcohol use disorder using neuroimaging and behavioral tasks.

Estrous cycle stage gates the effect of stress on reward learning

This study shows that stress affects reward learning differently in female rats depending on their estrous cycle stage and prior stress exposure history.

Chemogenetic Activation of Medial Prefrontal Cortex Projections to the Nucleus Accumbens Shell Suppresses Cocaine-Primed Reinstatement in EcoHIV Infected Mice

This study shows that HIV infection increases cocaine-primed reinstatement in mice and that activating the mPFC-NAc circuit can reverse this effect.

Alcohol drinking is associated with greater calcium activity in mouse central amygdala dynorphin-expressing neurons

The paper shows that alcohol drinking increases calcium activity in mouse central amygdala dynorphin-expressing neurons compared to other solutions.

Novel reactivity phenotype mediates long-term consequences of cocaine exposure during adolescence and adulthood in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

The paper examines how a novel reactivity phenotype influences cocaine-induced locomotor responses in adolescent and adult rats, showing lasting effects in low responders.

Developmental Differences in Novelty Reactivity in Adolescent and Adult Male and Female Rats

The paper examines developmental differences in novelty reactivity in adolescent and adult rats, finding adolescents show greater novelty-induced locomotor activity and exploratory behaviors.

Histone deacetylase 5 in prelimbic prefrontal cortex limits context-associated cocaine seeking

This study shows that HDAC5 in the prelimbic prefrontal cortex reduces context-associated cocaine seeking but not sucrose seeking, altering synaptic gene expression and excitatory/inhibitory balance.

The GPCR Smoothened on Cholinergic Interneurons Modulates Dopamine-associated Acetylcholine Dynamics and Affects Learning

This paper shows that Smoothened on cholinergic interneurons modulates acetylcholine dynamics and dopamine coordination, affecting motor learning.

Shifted balance between ventral striatal prodynorphin and proenkephalin biases development of cocaine place avoidance

The paper investigates the relationship between striatal opioid peptides and cocaine-induced conditioned place avoidance in mice, finding that low dynorphin levels correlate with increased avoidance.

Dopamine D1 receptor expression in prefrontal parvalbumin neurons influences distractibility across species

The paper compares distractibility between marmosets and macaques in cognitive tasks and links it to dopamine D1 receptor expression in prefrontal parvalbumin neurons.

Adaptive changes of cholinergic projections to the nucleus accumbens bidirectionally mediate cocaine reinforcing effects

This study shows that cocaine-induced changes in cholinergic projections from the LDT to the NAc bidirectionally affect cocaine's reinforcing effects.

Investigation of the Role of the LC3 Conjugation System in Autophagy for Human Reward System Reactivity

The paper investigates how variations in the LC3 conjugation system affect reward system reactivity in humans using fMRI and genetic analysis.

Dissociating the incubation of appetitive and consummatory behavior in a model of oral cocaine self-administration

This study uses an oral cocaine self-administration model to dissociate appetitive and consummatory behaviors, finding incubation of lever pressing for cocaine and magazine entries for saccharin after abstinence.

Paradoxical ventral tegmental area GABA signaling drives enhanced morphine reward after adolescent nicotine

This study shows that adolescent nicotine exposure alters VTA GABA neuron responses to morphine, enhancing morphine reward in adulthood.

Striatal cholinergic interneuron pause response requires Kv1 channels, is absent in dyskinetic mice, and is restored by dopamine D5 receptor inverse agonism

The paper investigates the pause response of striatal cholinergic interneurons, showing it depends on Kv1 channels and is restored by D5 receptor inverse agonism in dyskinetic mice.

Sex-specific effects of appetite suppressants and stereotypy in rats

This study examines sex-specific effects of appetite suppressants on weight and motor side effects in rats, finding differential weight loss and stereotypy patterns between males and females.

Fos expression in the periaqueductal gray, but not the ventromedial hypothalamus, is correlated with psychosocial stress-induced cocaine-seeking behavior in rats

The paper examines Fos expression in brain regions during psychosocial stress-induced cocaine seeking in rats, finding rPAGl activation correlates with cocaine-seeking behavior.

Cholinergic modulation of dopamine release drives effortful behavior

The paper shows that cholinergic modulation of dopamine release enhances effortful behavior by amplifying dopamine responses to high-effort rewards.

Generation of knock-in Cre and FlpO mouse lines for precise targeting of striatal projection neurons and dopaminergic neurons

The paper generates and characterizes knock-in mouse lines for precise genetic targeting of striatal and dopaminergic neurons, confirming their utility for studying neural circuits and disorders.