Alcohol and drug use can dysregulate neural circuit function to produce a wide range of
neuropsychiatric disorders, including addiction. To understand the neural circuit …

Background We recently reported that operant social choice–induced voluntary abstinence
prevents incubation of methamphetamine craving. Here, we determined whether social …

The alarming increase in heroin overdoses in the USA is a reminder of the need for
efficacious and novel treatments for opiate addiction. This may reflect the relatively poor …

Abstract Purpose of Review This review provides an overview of the neurobiological
mechanisms underlying opioid use disorder (OUD) drawing from genetic, functional, and …

Relapse to non‐medical use of prescription opioids often occurs after exposure to places
previously associated with drug use. Here, we describe a rat model of context‐induced …

The mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system innervates the region of the nucleus
accumbens in the anterior part of the basal forebrain and appears to play a critical role in …

Background Preclinical and human positron emission tomography studies have produced
inconsistent results regarding the effects of opioids on mesolimbic dopamine (DA). Here, we …

Background In this paper, we reviewed translational studies concerned with environmental
influences on the rewarding effects of heroin versus cocaine in rats and humans with …

Methods Rats with double-lumen catheters were first trained to self-administer either heroin
(25 μg/kg) or cocaine (400 μg/kg) for 12 consecutive sessions. Twenty-six rats were housed …

Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK (Ras-ERK) signaling has been implicated in the effects of drugs of abuse.
Inhibitors of MEK1/2, the kinases upstream of ERK1/2, have been critical in defining the role …