The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is involved in many reward-related behaviors. The NAc has
two major components, the core and the shell. These two areas have different inputs and …

The ventral pallidum (VP) is posited to contribute to reward seeking by conveying upstream
signals from the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Yet, very little is known about how VP neuron …

Suppression of ill-timed or competing actions optimizes goal-directed behaviors. Diminished
inhibitory control over such actions is a central feature of such disorders as impulsivity …

Despite its being historically conceptualized as a motor expression site, emerging evidence
suggests the ventral pallidum (VP) plays a more active role in integrating information to …

Remembering and discriminating objects based on their previously learned values are
essential for goal-directed behaviors. While the cerebral cortex is known to contribute to …

A critical area of inquiry in the neurobiology of alcohol abuse is the mechanism by which
cues gain the ability to elicit alcohol use. Previously, we found that cue‐evoked activity in rat …

Recent evidence demonstrates that long-term object value association can enhance visual
search efficiency, a phenomenon known as value pop-out. However, the neural mechanism …

Previous studies have revealed segregated circuitries in basal ganglia for fast learning that
enables value adaptability and slow forgetting which underlies stable value memories …

Peri-event time histograms (PETH) are widely used to study correlations between
experimental events and neuronal firing. The accuracy of firing rate estimate using a PETH …

Background: The thalamus is a phylogenetically well-preserved structure. Known to densely
contact cortical regions, its role in the transmission of sensory information to the striatal …