Development of tools to manipulate activity of specific neurons is important for dissecting the
function of neural circuits. Viral vectors and conditional transgenic animal lines that target …

The neural circuitry mechanism that underlies dopaminergic (DA) control of innate feeding
behavior is largely uncharacterized. Here, we identified a subpopulation of DA neurons …

Sign-tracking behavior, in which animals interact with a cue that predicts reward, provides
an example of how incentive salience can be attributed to cues and elicit motivation. The …

Pronounced hyperactivity can be produced by lesions or pharmacological inhibition of cells
in the median raphe nucleus (MR) located in the paramedian midbrain tegmentum. In the …

Drugs of abuse engage overlapping but distinct molecular and cellular mechanisms to
enhance dopamine (DA) signaling in the mesocorticolimbic circuitry. DA neurons of the …

Cre‐driver mouse lines have been extensively used as genetic tools to target and
manipulate genetically defined neuronal populations by expression of Cre recombinase …

Located in the nerve terminals of serotonergic neurons, 5-HT 1B autoreceptors are poised to
modulate synaptic 5-HT levels with precise temporal and spatial control, and play an …

The combination of chemogenetics targeting specific brain cell populations with in vivo
imaging techniques provides scientists with a powerful new tool to study functional neural …

Nigro-striatal dopamine transmission in the rat dorsomedial striatum (DMS) engages the
cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuit. Modulation of the CSTC circuit can emulate …

Alcoholism is a chronic relapsing and remitting disorder, where relapse to drinking is often
triggered by an intense desire for alcohol (craving) and the consequent motivation to obtain …