Drug consumption is driven by a drug's pharmacological effects, which are experienced as
rewarding, and is influenced by genetic, developmental, and psychosocial factors that …

The nucleus accumbens is a major input structure of the basal ganglia and integrates
information from cortical and limbic structures to mediate goal-directed behaviors. Chronic …

Excitatory afferents to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are thought to facilitate reward seeking
by encoding reward-associated cues. Selective activation of different glutamatergic inputs to …

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 …

Technological advances over the last decade are changing the face of behavioral
neuroscience research. Here we review recent work on the use of one such transformative …

Dysfunction in prosocial interactions is a core symptom of autism spectrum disorder.
However, the neural mechanisms that underlie sociability are poorly understood, limiting the …

Optogenetic and chemogenetic actuators are critical for deconstructing the neural correlates
of behavior. However, these tools have several limitations, including invasive modes of …

This review, one of a series of articles, tries to make sense of optogenetics, a recently
developed technology that can be used to control the activity of genetically-defined neurons …

The transcription factor, ΔFosB, is robustly and persistently induced in striatum by several
chronic stimuli, such as drugs of abuse, antipsychotic drugs, natural rewards, and stress …

The hippocampus is pivotal in integrating emotional processing, learning, memory, and
reward-related behaviors. The dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) is particularly crucial for …