The nucleus accumbens (NAc) contains a hedonic hotspot in the rostral half of medial shell,
where opioid agonist microinjections are known to enhance positive hedonic orofacial …

Orexin (hypocretin) is implicated in stimulating appetite as well as arousal, and in both food
reward and drug reward. The ventral pallidum (VP) receives orexin projections from lateral …

Animals use exteroceptive stimuli that have acquired, through learning, the ability to predict
available resources allowing them to engage in adaptive behaviors. Meanwhile, peripheral …

Orexins are found to participate in mediating stress-induced drug relapse. However, the
neuroanatomical basis that orexin transmission modulates stress-induced drug seeking …

Due to the nature of processing within the accumbens shell (AccSh) and the presence of
orexin receptors and varicosities within the AccSh, we hypothesized that orexin A may partly …

The overriding of satiety and homeostatic control mechanisms by cognitive, rewarding, and
emotional aspects of palatable foods may contribute to the evolving obesity crisis, but little is …

Data from our laboratory indicate that the orexin system is involved in the regulation of both
conditioned and unconditioned responding for palatable foods. Anticipation of food rewards …

Hedonic hotspots are brain sites where particular neurochemical stimulations causally
amplify the hedonic impact of sensory rewards, such as “liking” for sweetness. Here, we …

Orexin-expressing neurons are present in hypothalamic nuclei and send projections toward
mesolimbic regions such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain region implicated in …

Abstract Hypothalamic orexin/hypocretin (Orx/Hcrt) neurons are thought to mediate both
food‐reinforced behaviors and behavior motivated by drugs of abuse. However, the relative …