Featured Paper of the Month

Characterizing Olfactory Brain Responses in Young Infants

Featured Paper of the Month – October 2025
Published in The Journal of Neuroscience by Thorsten Kahnt of the NIDA IRP Learning and Decision-Making Section.

In this study, we presented different odors to sleeping infants while recording their nasal airflow and brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Odors evoked strong fMRI responses throughout the olfactory cortex and thalamus. Moreover, analysis of nasal airflow showed that infants inhaled more strongly to pleasant compared to unpleasant odors, suggesting they may adjust their breathing based on odor preference.

Serotonin 1A Receptors Modulate Serotonin 2A Receptor-Mediated Behavioral Effects of 5-Methoxy-,-dimethyltryptamine Analogs in Mice

Featured Paper of the Month – September 2025
Published in ACS Chemica Neuroscience by Grant Glatfelter and Michael Baumann of the NIDA IRP Designer Drug Research Unit.

In this study, we show that 5-MeO-DMT and related analogs potently activate 5-HT1A receptors, which tend to decrease the magnitude of 5-HT2A-mediated behavioral effects in mice.

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.

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.

Expectancy-related changes in firing of dopamine neurons depend on hippocampus

Featured Paper of the Month – January 2025

Published in Nature Communications by Zhewei Zhang, Yuji Takahashi and Geoffrey Schoenbaum et al. of the NIDA IRP Behavioral Neurophysiology Neuroscience Section.

We studied rats with hippocampus damage as they played a smell-based game. The game involved four contexts with different reward structures changing over time.