Substance use disorders for cocaine are major public health concerns with few effective
treatment options. Therefore, identification of novel pharmacotherapeutic targets is critical for …

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a key brain region involved in reward processing and is
linked to multiple neuropsychiatric conditions such as substance use disorder, depression …

There exists much variability in susceptibility/resilience to addiction in humans. The
environmental enrichment paradigm is a rat model of resilience to addiction-like behavior …

Transcriptomic and proteomic approaches have separately proven effective at identifying
novel mechanisms affecting addiction-related behavior; however, it is difficult to prioritize the …

During the initial stages of drug use, cocaine-induced neuroadaptations within the ventral
tegmental area (VTA) are critical for drug-associated cue learning and drug reinforcement …

Cocaine and alcohol are two substances of abuse that prominently affect the central nervous
system (CNS). Repeated exposure to cocaine and alcohol leads to longstanding changes in …

Drugs of abuse elevate dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and alter
transcriptional programs believed to promote long-lasting synaptic and behavioral …

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are integral brain
regions involved in reward processing and motivation, including responses to drugs of …

The cellular heterogeneity of brain poses a particularly thorny issue in genome-wide gene
expression studies. Because laser capture microdissection (LCM) enables the precise …

Background Increasing evidence supports a role for altered gene expression in mediating
the lasting effects of cocaine on the brain, and recent work has demonstrated the …