As the main input structure of the basal ganglia (BG), the striatum collects and integrates
information from several brain areas and funnels them forward to other BG nuclei. The …

Over the last century, there has been great progress in understanding how the brain works.
In particular, the last two decades have been crucial in gaining more awareness over the …

Abstract Purpose of Review Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are chronic relapsing disorders
with the modest efficacy of current medications. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) …

The mapping of long-range axonal projections is a rapidly growing endeavor in the field of
neuroscience. Recent advances in the development of adeno-associated viral vectors that …

Designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) modify cellular
activity following administration of the exogenous ligand clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) …

Neuroscientists have historically examined obesity through the lens of food addiction. This
thesis instead explored how a neuroinflammation lens of obesity development may …

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 …

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) neurons play an important role in modulating
activity in the mesocorticolimbic system in response to reward. Output from VTA DA neurons …

Neural circuit tracing methods that take advantage of viral vectors and transgenic mice
provide opportunities to gain insight into functional connectivity. Here we describe several …

One of the important problems in the treatment of addiction is the vulnerability of previously
addicted individuals to relapse to drug use months or even years after abstinence …