Hot Off the Press – September 14, 2026
Published in Biological Psychiatry by Rodrigo Osnaya-Ramirez, Huiling Wang, and Shiliang Zhang, et al. of the NIDA IRP Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch and Confocal and Electron Microscopy Core.
Summary
Researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse identified a brain circuit in mice that helps form long-lasting memories of threatening experiences. The circuit connects the lateral parabrachial nucleus, a brain region involved in detecting threats, with the ventral tegmental area, which contains dopamine-producing neurons. The researchers found that cells in this pathway became active in response to both natural threats and learned signals associated with an unpleasant experience.
Using techniques that allowed them to activate, record, or remove specific neurons, the researchers showed that stimulating this pathway caused mice to avoid a place associated with the stimulation. This avoidance persisted for up to seven weeks. Although parabrachial neurons connected with several types of cells in the ventral tegmental area, dopamine neurons were specifically required for this long-term aversive memory. Removing these dopamine neurons prevented the mice from developing the persistent avoidance response.
The researchers also found that activating the pathway caused dopamine release within the ventral tegmental area. Blocking local dopamine D1 receptors prevented formation of the lasting aversive memory, although mice still avoided the stimulation while it was occurring. Together, the findings reveal a specific brain mechanism that helps turn threatening experiences into persistent memories. Because this work was conducted in mice, further research is needed to determine its relevance to persistent aversive memories in people.
Publication Information
Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine Neurons Regulated by the Parabrachial Nucleus Mediate Long-Term Aversive Memory Journal Article
In: Biol Psychiatry, vol. 100, no. 1, pp. 30–43, 2026, ISSN: 1873-2402.
