Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Diurnal and seasonal regulation of brain mu-opioid and dopamine D2 receptor signalling in humans

The paper investigates diurnal and seasonal variations in brain mu-opioid and dopamine D2 receptor signaling in humans using PET data and finds MOR availability increases in the afternoon, with seasonal and trait-anxiety influences.

SEROTONERGIC ANXIETY IS A STRESS INTENSITY-DEPENDENT STATE MEDIATED BY DOPAMINERGIC SIGNALING

This study shows that stress intensity determines serotonergic involvement in anxiety, with higher stress leading to DRN-independent anxiety and dopaminergic modulation.

Bulk medial prefrontal cortex activity comports with a functional bipartition between salience detection and movement gain

The paper investigates mPFC activity in rats during reward prediction error tasks, finding a functional bipartition between salience detection and movement gain modulation.

Reproducible Human Reward Imaging Phenotypes Exhibit Differential Sensitivity to Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonism

The paper identifies two reproducible reward imaging phenotypes linked to dopamine D2 receptor function and shows differential responses to antipsychotic drugs.

The Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Uses Reward Predictions to Regulate How Rewards Are Pursued

The paper shows that the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) uses reward predictions to regulate how rewards are pursued, with cues signaling imminent reward suppressing instrumental seeking and cues signaling sparse reward invigorating it.

Cholinergic-dependent dopamine signals in mouse dorsomedial striatum are regulated by frontal but not sensory cortices

The paper shows that visual stimuli evoke dopamine in the dorsomedial striatum via cholinergic-dependent mechanisms, driven by frontal cortices rather than sensory cortices.

A VTA-pontine GABA pathway biases locomotor direction via local and distal inhibition

This study identifies a midbrain pathway from VTA to pontine reticular nucleus that biases locomotor direction through local and distal inhibition.

NMDA receptor ablation in medial prefrontal cortex disrupts value updating and reward history integration

This study shows that NMDA receptor loss in the medial prefrontal cortex impairs value updating and reward history integration in mice, mimicking schizophrenia-like cognitive deficits.

Cocaine-Enhanced Enkephalin Gates Plasticity of Distinct Striatal Synapses and Facilitates Cue-Induced Cocaine-Seeking During Abstinence

This study shows that cocaine abstinence increases enkephalin in D2-MSNs, reducing GABA release to VP neurons and promoting cocaine seeking.

Genetic Modulation of Oxycodone Self-Administration Trajectories: From Initiation to Escalating Burst Patterns

This study identifies strain-dependent genetic influences on oxycodone self-administration patterns in rats, revealing differences in acquisition, escalation, and burst-like responding.

Connectomic dopamine-neuron disinhibition accelerates behavioral extinction

The paper shows that weakening inhibitory synapses onto dopamine neurons accelerates behavioral extinction by reducing reward-omission dopamine dips.

Social isolation recruits amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex projections to escalate alcohol drinking in male mice

This study identifies a BLA-mPFC neural pathway through which social isolation increases alcohol drinking in male mice by altering prefrontal cortex activity.

Calbindin Stratifies Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons Governing Distinct Aspects of Locomotion

This study identifies distinct roles of calbindin-expressing and non-expressing midbrain dopaminergic neurons in locomotion and motor learning through genetic ablation and chemogenetic approaches.

The role of serotonin in the orbitofrontal cortex in alcohol consumption

This study shows that serotonin signaling in the orbitofrontal cortex influences alcohol consumption and aversion-resistant drinking in mice.

Temporally distinct reward and action prediction error signals during value learning and habit formation

Protracted abstinence from heroin, but not cocaine, is associated with profound medial prefrontal cortex synaptic bioenergetic remodeling and lasting neural hypofunction

The paper identifies synaptic bioenergetic remodeling in the mPFC after heroin abstinence, but not cocaine, and links it to relapse vulnerability.

Kappa opioid receptors regulate cocaine effects on nucleus accumbens dopamine through phosphorylation of dopamine transporter at the threonine 53 site

This study shows that KOR activation leads to DAT tolerance to cocaine via phosphorylation at threonine 53, demonstrated through behavioral, electrophysiological, and genetic experiments across species.

Hypothalamic Representation of Aggressiveness across Mouse Strains

The paper investigates genetic and neuronal factors influencing aggression in mice, finding strong genetic control and a role for VMHvl neurons.

Dopamine serves as an independent gain regulator to shape striatal control of movement

This study shows dopamine modulates striatal neuron activity to control movement by adjusting input-output efficacy in direct and indirect pathways.

Melanin-concentrating hormone signaling regulates persistence and updating of reward-guided actions

This study shows that MCH signaling influences how reward-guided behavior persists or updates when contingencies change, with MCHR1 blockade reducing perseveration and speeding adaptation.

Mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways differentially support fentanyl-context associations

This study investigates how VTA-NAc and VTA-PFC circuits contribute to fentanyl-context associations and identifies distinct dopamine receptor roles in context-seeking behavior.

Male mouse strain variation reveals divergent phenotypes for extrinsic and intrinsic reward motivation

The paper investigates strain differences in extrinsic and intrinsic motivation tasks in mice, finding divergent motivational phenotypes across strains.

Remotely Presenting Alcohol-predicting Cues Avoids Confound of Experimenter as First Cue and Reveals Sex-specific Behaviors that Predict the Rate and Amount of Alcohol Consumption

This study investigates sex-specific behavioral predictors of alcohol consumption by remotely presenting alcohol-predicting cues and analyzing correlations between behaviors and drinking variables.

Effects of dopamine and serotonin on persistence for delayed rewards in humans

This study investigates how dopamine and serotonin affect persistence for delayed rewards in humans, finding that serotonin increases persistence while dopamine has mixed effects.

Sensory stimulation triggers different spike responses in serotonin and dopamine neurons in the dorsal midbrain tegmentum.

The paper shows that serotonin and dopamine neurons in the dorsal midbrain tegmentum respond differently to sensory stimuli, with distinct activation patterns following aversive inputs.

Multidimensional profiling of heterogeneous lateral habenula subpopulations reveals distinct responses during motivated behavior

This study identifies distinct subpopulations of lateral habenula neurons and shows they respond differently to reward-related stimuli during behavior.

Genome-wide association study in Heterogeneous Stock rats identifies genetic loci associated with aversion-based learning and cocaine aversion

Exploratory spatial peptidomic profiling during incubation of drug seeking following cocaine plus alcohol self-administration in young adult rats

The paper uses MALDI-IMS to identify region-specific peptide/protein alterations in rat brain regions after cocaine and cocaine-alcohol exposure, showing distinct molecular profiles.

The Cellular and Synaptic Actions of Dopamine During Behavior

This study investigates how dopamine signaling in the striatum influences corticostriatal circuits during behavior, finding that learning-related plasticity, not acute dopamine effects, shapes circuit function.

Dorsal Striatum Silencing Attenuates Light Self-administration in Mice and Its Relevance to Digital technology-based Disorders

This study shows that silencing the dorsal striatum reduces light self-administration in mice, suggesting a role similar to drug addiction.