Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

This study shows that dopamine D2 receptors in the extended amygdala are crucial for switching between passive and active defensive behaviors in response to threats.

This study shows that midbrain dopamine neurons provide teaching signals for goal-directed navigation by encoding reward prediction errors and ramping activity that improve navigation performance.

The paper uses whole-brain imaging and c-Fos analysis in mice to study changes in brain networks during alcohol reexposure in a binge-like drinking model.

The paper investigates the effects of dorsal striatal dopamine activation on CSTC circuit function in rats, finding reduced fronto-cortical activity and changes in behaviors related to anxiety and compulsive actions.

This paper introduces an oral oxycodone self-administration paradigm in mice to model prescription opioid use and its transition to abuse.

This study shows that voluntary alcohol consumption disrupts the coupling between prefrontal cortical activity and arousal in mice.

This study shows that rats with long-term cocaine-seeking habits controlled by cues show increased relapse severity, driven by negative urgency and striatal system interactions.

The paper examines how baseline lateral habenula (LHb) firing rates in rats correlate with ethanol intake over time, finding a negative correlation between higher baseline activity and increased ethanol consumption.

The paper shows disrupting D2-NMDA receptor heteromerization blocks cocaine's rewarding effects without affecting natural reward processing in mice and humans.

The paper identifies a neural circuit in male mice where stress inhibits reward processing by targeting VTA GABAergic neurons, linking it to depressive-like behaviors.

The paper identifies increased AMPA/NMDA ratio at OFC-DS synapses and SPN activity peaks as drivers of compulsive reward seeking in mice.

This study shows that tonic activity in lateral habenula neurons promotes disengagement from reward-seeking behavior, with no similar activity in VTA dopamine neurons.

This study shows that disrupting the PDZ-domain binding motif of the dopamine transporter alters its nanoscale distribution and dopamine homeostasis, leading to changes in reward-related behaviors.

The paper investigates DR to VTA projections in mice using single-cell RNA sequencing, showing anatomical and functional specificity of serotonergic and glutamatergic neurons.

This study investigates how chronic social defeat stress affects dopaminergic pathways in male and female mice, revealing sex-specific molecular changes in the VTA, NAc, and mPFC.

This meta-analysis examines the association between dopamine receptor availability and obesity using neuroimaging data, finding a negative correlation between striatal BPND and BMI.

The paper investigates how estradiol affects ethanol-induced firing in ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons, finding enhanced firing without changes in synaptic inhibition.

The paper identifies Egr2 induction in Drd1+ cells of the ventrolateral striatum as necessary for cocaine reward development through dynamic gene expression analysis.

The paper identifies a brain circuit from the superior colliculus to the substantia nigra pars compacta that enhances appetitive locomotion during predatory hunting by modulating dopamine release.

This study uses a computational model of the basal ganglia to show that greater D1 receptor sensitivity compared to D2 improves action selection.

This study uses optogenetics to investigate how striatal patches influence habit formation and dopamine signaling in mice.

This paper describes a new experimental assay allowing mice to self-administer drugs while head-restrained, enabling simultaneous multiphoton imaging of neural activity during drug use and relapse.

This study shows that Tsn knockout mice exhibit increased amphetamine-induced hyperactivity due to elevated adiposity, which raises brain amphetamine levels.

This study shows that cerebellar stimulation modulates NAc core and medial shell activity with fast excitation and slower inhibition, revealing functional connectivity through VTA and thalamus.

This study shows finasteride reduces opioid self-administration in zebrafish and rats without affecting locomotion or feeding, and suggests steroidogenic pathways as potential targets for OUD treatment.

The paper proposes a dopamine-related mechanism involving successor representation and spiral RPE circuits that may explain difficulty in stopping habitual reward-seeking behaviors.

This study investigates sex differences in how alcohol-associated contexts influence responding to an alcohol-predictive cue in rats.

The paper identifies translational and splicing differences in dopaminoceptive neurons and highlights PGE2's role in enhancing D2 dopamine receptor function in the dorsal striatum.