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Technology Resource Initiative – Paper of the Month – August 2025

Isolation of psychedelic-responsive neurons underlying anxiolytic behavioral states. Published in Science.

Understanding how psychedelics exert therapeutic effects without inducing hallucinogenic side effects is a key challenge in neuropsychiatric drug development. Muir et al. combine multiple cutting-edge neuroscience approaches to dissociate the neural mechanisms underlying the anxiolytic-like and hallucinogenic-like effects of the psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI). They identify a population of DOI-responsive neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex that mediate anxiolytic-like effects without inducing hallucinogenic-like behaviors, paving the way for the development of more targeted psychedelic therapies.

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Locomotor activity depends on β-arrestin recruitment by the dopamine D₁ receptor in the striatal D₁-D₃ receptor heteromer

Hot Off the Press – August, 2025 Published in Pharmacological Research by Alexandra Evans and Sergi Ferré , et al. of the NIDA IRP Integrative Neurobiology Section. Summary It has been long advocated that the mechanism responsible for the classically established cooperative effect of dopamine D1-like and D2-like receptor agonists in the elicitation of locomotor activity… [Read More]

The Role of Claustrum in Incubation of Opioid Seeking after Electric Barrier-Induced Voluntary Abstinence in Male and Female Rats

Featured Paper of the Month – August 2025
Published in Journal of Neuroscience by Kenichiro Negishi, Ying Duan, Yihong Yang, Yavin Shaham and Ida Fredriksson, et al. of the NIDA IRP Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Section and Neurobiology of Relapse Section.

In the present study, we used immunohistochemistry, anatomical tracing, and reversible inactivation methods to identify a critical role of a brain region called the claustrum and its anatomical connections with ventral subiculum in incubation of oxycodone seeking.

Morphinan Alkaloids and Their Transformations: A Historical Perspective of a Century of Opioid Research in Hungary

Reviews To Read – July 2025. Published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences with contributions by Kenner Rice of the NIDA IRP Drug Design and Synthesis Section. The word opium derives from the ancient Greek word ὄπιον (ópion) for the juice of any plant, but today means the air-dried seed capsule latex of Papaver somniferum. Alkaloid… [Read More]

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists but not dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors reduce alcohol intake

Featured Paper of the Month – July 2025

Published in Journal of Clinical Investigation by Mehdi Farokhnia and Lorenzo Leggio of the NIDA IRP Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section.

In this study, we investigated the associations between the receipt of GLP-1RAs and change in alcohol use, using real-world electronic health record data from the largest integrated healthcare system in the U.S., the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Frontostriatal regulation of brain circuits contributes to flexible decision making

Featured Paper of the Month – June 2025
Published in Neuropsychopharmacology by Ying Duan and Yihong Yang of the NIDA IRP Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Section.

In this study, we confirmed the role of the mPFC-NAc pathway in behavioral flexibility using a set-shifting task in rats. We then evaluated the causal effects of mPFC-NAc activation on whole-brain activity and functional connectivity measured by functional MRI.

ESG-1-60 and ESG-1-61: Novel dopamine D receptor-preferring partial agonists/antagonists that inhibit cocaine taking and seeking in rodents

Featured Paper of the Month – May 2025

Published in British Journal of Pharmacology by Omar Soler-Cedeño and Zheng-Xiong Xi of the NIDA IRP Addiction Biology Unit.

In this research paper, we investigated three compounds – cariprazine, ESG-1-60, and ESG-1-61 – as potential treatments for cocaine use disorder.

Distributed midbrain responses signal the content of positive identity prediction errors.

Featured Paper of the Month – April 2025

Published in Current Biology by Thorsten Kahnt of the NIDA IRP Learning and Decision-Making Unit.

In this study, we used pattern-based analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected during a learning task to examine the information content of iPE responses in the human midbrain.

Catecholaminergic Modulation of Large-Scale Network Dynamics Is Tied to the Reconfiguration of Corticostriatal Connectivity

Featured Paper of the Month – March 2025

Published in Human Brain Mapping by Justine Hill and Amy Janes, et al. of the NIDA IRP Cognitive and Pharmacological Neuroimaging Unit.

In this study, we show that methylphenidate – a drug used to treat ADHD by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine – boosts the amount of time that the brain is engaged in both internal and external attention networks.

GHSR blockade, but not reduction of peripherally circulating ghrelin via β1-adrenergic receptor antagonism, decreases binge-like alcohol drinking in mice

Featured Paper of the Month – February 2025

Published in Molecular Psychiatry by Rani Richardson, Leandro Vendruscolo, and Lorenzo Leggio of the NIDA IRP.

We previously found that systemic and central administration of GHSR antagonists reduced binge-like alcohol drinking, whereas a ghrelin vaccine did not. Thus, we hypothesized that central GHSR drives binge-like alcohol drinking independently of peripheral ghrelin.