Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Opposing effects of rewarding and aversive stimuli on D1 and D2 types of dopamine-sensitive neurons in the central amygdala

The paper investigates how rewarding and aversive stimuli affect DRD1 and DRD2 dopamine receptor-expressing neurons in the central amygdala, showing differential activation patterns.

Dopamine release in striatal striosome compartments in response to rewards and aversive outcomes during classical conditioning in mice

This study measures dopamine release in striosomal compartments of mice during classical conditioning, showing differential release in response to rewarding and aversive stimuli.

Cocaine, via ΔFosB, remodels gene expression and excitability in ventral hippocampus

This study shows that cocaine exposure increases calreticulin in the ventral hippocampus via ΔFosB, reducing excitability in the vHPC-NAc circuit and promoting cocaine seeking and reward.

Employing biological sex as a primary variable can restrict our understanding of behavioral diversity (and sex differences) in psychostimulant activity.

The paper compares grouping by biological sex versus individual attributes to identify behavioral diversity in psychostimulant activity, finding that individual clustering reveals greater differences than sex-based grouping.

Chemogenetic manipulation of the ventral pallidum-nucleus accumbens shell pathway modulates sucrose consumption independent of motivation in female rats.

This study uses chemogenetic techniques to show that the ventral pallidum-nucleus accumbens shell pathway modulates sucrose consumption without affecting food-seeking motivation in female rats.

β-arrestin-biased Allosteric Modulator of Neurotensin Receptor 1 Reduces Ethanol Drinking and Responses to Ethanol Administration in Rodents

This study evaluates the effects of SBI-553, a β-arrestin-biased allosteric modulator of NTSR1, on ethanol-related behaviors in rodents, finding reduced ethanol consumption and altered sensitivity to ethanol effects.

Large-scale characterization of cocaine addiction-like behaviors reveals that escalation of intake, aversion-resistant responding, and breaking-points are highly correlated measures of the same construct.

The paper shows that escalation of cocaine intake, progressive ratio responding, and continued use despite adverse consequences are highly correlated in rats, with sex differences in addiction-like behaviors.

The most significant differences between male and female rats regarding psychostimulant self-administration behavior are unrelated to biological sex

The study validates the MISSING model to explain inconsistencies in sex differences in methamphetamine self-administration by analyzing behavioral clusters in male and female rats.

The persistent effects of predator odor stressor enhance interoceptive sensitivity to alcohol through GABA-A receptor adaptations in the prelimbic cortex in male, but not female rats

This study shows that predator odor stress increases male rats' sensitivity to alcohol via GABAA receptor changes in the prelimbic cortex, but not in females.

Transformation of valence signaling in a striatopallidal circuit

This study investigates how valence encoding transforms through the striatopallidal circuit by comparing odor identity and reward contingency encoding in the anteromedial olfactory tubercle and ventral pallidum.

Temporal Dynamics of Nucleus Accumbens Neurons in Male Mice During Reward Seeking

The paper identifies three temporally sequenced clusters of NAc neuron activity in mice during reward seeking and shows that D1 and D2 neuron activity at specific times predicts and influences lever-pressing behavior.

Mu opioid receptor expression by nucleus accumbens inhibitory interneurons promotes affiliative social behavior

The paper identifies nucleus accumbens inhibitory interneurons as a key site where mu opioid receptor expression promotes social behavior, distinct from its role in exogenous opioid sensitivity.

Dopamine D1 receptor activation shapes anterior insula neural coding of anxiety

This study shows that dopamine D1 receptor activation in the anterior insula increases anxiety-related behaviors and disrupts neural coding of exposed versus protected spaces.

Prior cocaine use diminishes encoding of latent information by orbitofrontal, but not medial, prefrontal ensembles

This study shows that prior cocaine use changes neural ensemble representations in the orbitofrontal cortex, affecting decision-making in rats.

Limitations of grouping subjects based on biological sex (males versus females) and a new approach: insights from intra-nucleus accumbens core dopamine-induced psychostimulant activity.

The paper compares grouping subjects by biological sex versus behavioral clustering to identify distinct groups with specific dopamine activity patterns in rats.

Working Memory Gating in Obesity is Moderated by Striatal Dopaminergic Gene Variants

This study investigates how obesity affects working memory gating and finds that dopaminergic gene variants and amino acid ratios influence cognitive flexibility in high-BMI individuals.

DNAJC13 influences responses of the extended reward system to conditioned stimuli: a genome-wide association study

This study identifies a genetic variant in DNAJC13 that influences neural activation in the reward system in response to conditioned stimuli using GWAS and fMRI.

Sequence termination cues drive habits via dopamine-mediated credit assignment

This study shows that sequence termination cues, via dopamine signaling, drive habitual behavior by enhancing automaticity and reducing behavioral flexibility.

Pre-existing visual responses in a projection-defined dopamine population explain individual learning trajectories

The paper shows that pre-existing visual responses in dopamine terminals predict individual learning trajectories in mice during a visual task.

Diverse ancestral brainstem noradrenergic neuron activity across species and biological factors

This study analyzes LC neuron firing patterns across species and biological factors, revealing diverse activity patterns and subregions enriched for specific factors and disease models.

Dopamine Release Plateau and Outcome Signals in Dorsal Striatum Contrast with Classic Reinforcement Learning Formulations

This study shows that dopamine release patterns in the dorsal striatum differ between medial and lateral regions during learning, challenging classic reinforcement learning models.

A striosomal accumbens pathway drives compulsive seeking behaviors through an aversive Esr1+ hypothalamic-habenula circuit.

The paper identifies a striosomal ACB projection to the Esr1+ LHA-LHb pathway that drives compulsive seeking behaviors through aversive signaling.

Cocaine taking and craving produce distinct transcriptional profiles in dopamine neurons

The paper identifies distinct transcriptional changes in dopamine neurons during cocaine taking and craving using a mouse model and nuclear RNA-sequencing.

Activation of Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors in the Basolateral Amygdala Inhibits Reward Seeking Triggered by Discriminative Stimuli

The paper demonstrates that activation of mGlu2/3 receptors in the basolateral amygdala inhibits reward seeking triggered by discriminative stimuli in rats.

Neuro-Immune Communication at the Core of Craving-Associated Brain Structural Network Reconfiguration in Methamphetamine Users

This study investigates structural brain network changes in methamphetamine users during long-term abstinence and links them to craving mechanisms using network control theory and multimodal analyses.

Cell-Type-Specific Epigenetic Priming of Gene Expression in Nucleus Accumbens by Cocaine

This study identifies a novel epigenetic mechanism by which chronic cocaine exposure alters gene expression in nucleus accumbens neurons through H2A.Z depletion and chromatin changes.

Monosynaptic ventral tegmental area glutamate projections to the locus coeruleus enhance aversive processing

The paper identifies a novel monosynaptic glutamatergic projection from the ventral tegmental area to the locus coeruleus that enhances aversive processing through synaptic integration during salient stimuli.

A mismatch between striatal cholinergic pauses and dopaminergic reward prediction errors

The paper shows that cholinergic pauses and dopamine reward prediction errors differ across striatal subregions in rats during decision-making tasks.

Acetylcholine signaling in the medial prefrontal cortex mediates the ability to learn an active avoidance response following learned helplessness training

This study investigates the role of acetylcholine signaling in the medial prefrontal cortex during learned helplessness training and active avoidance tasks, finding sex-specific effects on escape performance and potential contributions to depressive symptoms.

Striatal modulation supports policy-specific reinforcement and not action selection

The paper shows that striatal pathway modulation in mice affects behavioral policies related to reinforcement rather than action selection.