Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Rules of disengagement: orexin-arousal and dopamine-utility as separable axes

The paper identifies two separable neurochemical axes—orexin-driven arousal and dopamine-mediated utility—that govern task engagement in mice, with implications for drug effects and motivation disorders.

Divergent roles of orexin and dynorphin in modulating VTA dopamine projections to the BLA after morphine exposure

This study shows opioids shift the neuromodulatory effect of LHox/dyn on VTA DA neurons projecting to BLA from inhibitory to excitatory via KOR signaling changes.

Striatal M4 Receptors Mediate M4 PAM Antipsychotic-like Efficacy Independently of Normalizing Striatal Dopamine Release

This study shows that M4 receptor PAMs have antipsychotic-like effects through dorsal striatal postsynaptic mechanisms, independent of changes in dopamine release.

Adult motivation deficits produced by early developmental fluoxetine exposure are rescued by nucleus accumbens mu opioid receptor antagonism

This study shows that early developmental fluoxetine exposure impairs adult motivation in mice, which can be reversed by nucleus accumbens mu opioid receptor antagonism.

Subthalamic Nucleus dynamically encodes reward value and cognitive flexibility

This study shows the subthalamic nucleus (STN) encodes reward value and updates reward associations during cognitive flexibility tasks.

Collateral-defined prefrontal-striatal circuits partition behavioral vigor during appetitive goal pursuit

The paper identifies two collateral-defined prefrontal-striatal subnetworks that differentially regulate initiation and approach vigor during appetitive goal pursuit.

Semaglutide Increases Striatal Leptin Sensitivity, Impacting Dopaminergic Response to Cocaine

This study shows chronic semaglutide treatment reduces cocaine-induced dopaminergic reward by enhancing striatal leptin sensitivity, with effects dependent on metabolic hormones.

Disruption of opioid and mesolimbic dopamine dynamics and behavior upon intranasal delivery of opioids in mice

This study investigates the effects of intranasal opioid administration in mice, revealing changes in dopamine and opioid dynamics and associated behaviors.

Chronic fentanyl induces sex-specific anxiolytic-like effects in opioid-dependent rats

This study shows chronic fentanyl reduces anxiety-like behavior in opioid-dependent rats, with sex-specific effects, suggesting potential for misuse due to anxiolytic effects.

Dopaminergic reward signals shape foraging decisions through learned value expectations

This study shows mice use learned value expectations to guide foraging decisions, with dopamine signaling reward prediction errors that shape behavior in dynamic environments.

Projection populations form a dorsoventral gradient of reward representations in the lateral septum

The paper identifies two distinct projection populations in the lateral septum with opposing reward responses and shows their role in reward-seeking behavior.

Activation of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons promotes the attribution of incentive salience to reward cues in male rats

The paper shows that activating basal forebrain cholinergic neurons increases sign-tracking in a Pavlovian Conditioned Approach task in male rats.

Opioid addiction vs. sugar addiction: Mesocorticolimbic stimulation controls motivation for remifentanil or alternative reward

This study shows that mesocorticolimbic stimulation can control motivation for opioids like remifentanil or sucrose, similar to how it controls cocaine motivation, by pairing stimulation with reward.

Oxytocin modulates behavioral economic and dopaminergic measures of motivation to seek intravenous oxycodone in rats

This study examines how oxytocin affects opioid seeking and dopamine signaling in rats, finding sex-specific effects on motivation and dopamine release during oxycodone self-administration.

Limitations of pupil diameter as a proxy for modes of locus coeruleus activity

This study shows that pupil diameter is not reliably linked to locus coeruleus activity modes, suggesting caution in using pupil size as a proxy for phasic and tonic LC-NE activity.

Basal forebrain projections to the lateral habenula regulate ethanol and sucrose consumption

This study investigates the role of basal forebrain to lateral habenula projections in ethanol and sucrose consumption using chemogenetic manipulation in rats.

Striatal D2-neurons gate D1-mediated associative encoding under uncertainty

The paper identifies D2-SPNs as transiently recruited during early learning to regulate D1-SPN dopamine signaling and improve action-outcome encoding under uncertainty.

Dynamics of dopamine transients in human olfactory epithelium during reward learning

This study measures fast dopamine transients in human olfactory epithelium during reward learning tasks and finds they shift from outcomes to cues, matching prediction error signals.

The Role of Locus Coeruleus and Substantia Nigra/Ventral Tegmental Area activity in Reward and Salience Processing: A High-Resolution fMRI Study

This study uses high-resolution fMRI to show that SN/VTA and LC activity differ in their response to rewarded versus visually salient stimuli, indicating distinct roles in reward and salience processing.

Projection-defined ventral tegmental area neurons exhibit distinct molecular adaptations during acute fentanyl withdrawal

The paper examines molecular adaptations in VTA neurons during fentanyl withdrawal, finding distinct transcriptional responses based on projection targets.

The basolateral amygdala dopamine system shapes dynamic drug seeking states

This study investigates how dopamine signaling and D1+ neurons in the basolateral amygdala influence cocaine seeking behavior in rats through environmental cues.

Cell-type-specific encoding of effort-based decision-making in the dorsal raphe nucleus

The paper investigates how serotonergic and GABAergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus contribute to effort-based decision-making by analyzing their activity during a task.

Modeling the Neurocircuitry Involved in Binge Drinking

The paper develops a computational model of binge drinking circuitry, showing how interactions between brain regions generate the two-phase drinking pattern.

Anatomical mapping of dopamine D1 and muscarinic M4 receptor

The paper maps the anatomical distribution of dopamine D1 and muscarinic M4 receptor-expressing cells across brain regions in mice.

Cellular and molecular coding of habit-driven behavior in the dorsal raphe nucleus

This study identifies the role of dorsal raphe nucleus neurons in stress-induced shifts from goal-directed to habit-driven behavior using mouse models and molecular profiling.

Dopamine neurons drive basal forebrain reward prediction in milliseconds

The paper shows that dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area causally drive basal forebrain bursting neurons to propagate reward prediction signals on a millisecond timescale.

Paraventricular Thalamus Neurons Encode Early-life Adversity and execute Consequent Sex-dependent Disruptions of Adult Reward Behaviors

The paper identifies sex-dependent roles of paraventricular thalamus neurons in mediating the effects of early-life adversity on adult reward behaviors in mice.

Individual Differences in Dopaminergic Modulation of Exploration-Exploitation Behaviour

This study investigates how dopamine levels affect exploration-exploitation behavior in humans, finding that cognitive capacity and sex moderate L-DOPA effects on decision-making.

The multiscale architecture of trait aggression: from meta-analytic convergence to multimodal characterization

This study identifies a reproducible multiscale neurobiological architecture of trait aggression across structural, functional, molecular, and neurochemical levels using meta-analytic and multimodal approaches.

Individual differences in novelty-seeking behavior are modulated by GRK2/3 inhibition in rats

This study shows GRK2/3 inhibition affects novelty-seeking behavior and striatal dopamine levels in rats, with implications for drug addiction vulnerability.