Addiction is commonly identified with habitual nonmedical self-administration of drugs. It is
usually defined by characteristics of intoxication or by characteristics of withdrawal …

The mesocorticolimbic pathway is canonically known as the" reward pathway." Embedded
within the center of this circuit is the striatum, a massive and complex network hub that …

Deficits in decoding rewarding (and aversive) signals are present in several
neuropsychiatric conditions such as depression and addiction, emphasising the importance …

Understanding the brain circuitry that underlies reward is critical to improve treatment for
many common health issues, including obesity, depression, and addiction. Here we focus …

The striatal and pallidal complexes are basal ganglia structures that orchestrate learning
and execution of flexible behavior. Models of how the basal ganglia subserve these …

Nucleus accumbens (NAc) is involved in behaviors that depend on heightened wakefulness,
but its impact on arousal remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that NAc dopamine D1 …

Optical manipulations of genetically defined cell types have generated significant insights
into the dynamics of neural circuits. While optogenetic activation has been relatively …

Major depressive disorder (MDD) patients display a common but often variable set of
symptoms making successful, sustained treatment difficult to achieve. Separate depressive …

Cocaine craving, seeking, and relapse are mediated, in part, by cocaine-induced adaptive
changes in the brain reward circuits. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) integrates and …

At the core of value-based learning is the nucleus accumbens (NAc). D1-and D2-receptor-
containing medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the NAc core are hypothesized to have …