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Role of Dorsomedial Striatum Neuronal Ensembles in Incubation of Methamphetamine Craving after Voluntary Abstinence

Featured Paper of the Month – April 2017
Published in The Journal of Neuroscience by Caprioli, Daniele; Venniro, Marco; Zhang, Michelle; Bossert, Jennifer M; Warren, Brandon L; Hope, Bruce T; Shaham, Yavin

We recently developed a rat model of incubation of methamphetamine craving after choice-based voluntary abstinence. Here, we studied the role of dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and dorsomedial striatum (DMS) in this incubation. We trained rats to self-administer palatable food pellets (6 d, 6 h/d) and methamphetamine (12 d, 6 h/d)…

Circuit specificity in the inhibitory architecture of the VTA regulates cocaine-induced behavior.

Hot Off the Press! – March 2017
Edwards, Nicholas J; Tejeda, Hugo A; Pignatelli, Marco; Zhang, Shiliang; McDevitt, Ross A; Wu, Jocelyn; Bass, Caroline E; Bettler, Bernhard; Morales, Marisela; Bonci, Antonello
Nat Neurosci, 20 (3), pp. 438–448, 2017, ISSN: 1546-1726 (Electronic); 1097-6256 (Linking).
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Key role of the dopamine D4 receptor in the modulation of corticostriatal glutamatergic neurotransmission.

Featured Paper of the Month – March 2017
Published in Science Advances by Bonaventura, Jordi; Quiroz, Cesar; Cai, Ning-Sheng; Rubinstein, Marcelo; Tanda, Gianluigi; Ferre, Sergi

Polymorphic variants of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) have been repeatedly associated with numerous neuropsychiatric disorders. Yet, the functional role of the D4 receptor and the functional differences of the products of DRD4 polymorphic variants remained enigmatic…

CYP2A6 Genetic Variation Alters Striatal-Cingulate Circuits, Network Hubs, and Executive Processing in Smokers.

Featured Paper of the Month – February 2017
Published in Biological Psychiatry by Li, Sufang; Yang, Yihong; Hoffmann, Ewa; Tyndale, Rachel F; Stein, Elliot A

Variation in the CYP2A6 gene alters the rate of nicotine metabolic inactivation and is associated with smoking behaviors and cessation success rates. The underlying neurobiological mechanisms of this genetic influence are unknown…

Synaptic Plasticity onto Dopamine Neurons Shapes Fear Learning.

Hot Off the Press! – January 2017
Barbera, Giovanni; Liang, Bo; Zhang, Lifeng; Gerfen, Charles R; Culurciello, Eugenio; Chen, Rong; Li, Yun; Lin, Da-Ting
Neuron, 92 (1), pp. 202–213, 2016, ISSN: 1097-4199 (Electronic); 0896-6273 (Linking).
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Pathway- and Cell-Specific Kappa-Opioid Receptor Modulation of Excitation-Inhibition Balance Differentially Gates D1 and D2 Accumbens Neuron Activity.

Hot Off the Press! – January 2017
Tejeda, Hugo A; Wu, Jocelyn; Kornspun, Alana R; Pignatelli, Marco; Kashtelyan, Vadim; Krashes, Michael J; Lowell, Brad B; Carlezon, William Jr A; Bonci, Antonello
Nat Neurosci, 20 (3), pp. 438–448, 2017, ISSN: 1546-1726 (Electronic); 1097-6256 (Linking).
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The Sigma-1 Receptor as a Pluripotent Modulator in Living Systems.

Reviews To Read – January 2017
Su, Tsung-Ping; Su, Tzu-Chieh; Nakamura, Yoki; Tsai, Shang-Yi
Trends Pharmacol Sci, 37 (4), pp. 262–278, 2016, ISSN: 1873-3735 (Electronic); 0165-6147 (Linking).
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Pontomesencephalic Tegmental Afferents to VTA Non-dopamine Neurons Are Necessary for Appetitive Pavlovian Learning

Featured Paper of the Month – January 2017
Published in Cell Reports by Yau, Hau-Jie; Wang, Dong V; Tsou, Jen-Hui; Chuang, Yi-Fang; Chen, Billy T; Deisseroth, Karl; Ikemoto, Satoshi; Bonci, Antonello

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) receives phenotypically distinct innervations from the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg). While PPTg-to-VTA inputs are thought to play a critical role in stimulus-reward learning, direct evidence linking PPTg-to-VTA phenotypically distinct inputs in the learning process remains lacking…

Glutamate neurons are intermixed with midbrain dopamine neurons in nonhuman primates and humans

Featured Paper of the Month – December 2016
Published in Scientific Reports by Root, David H; Wang, Hui-Ling; Liu, Bing; Barker, David J; Mod, Laszlo; Szocsics, Peter; Silva, Afonso C; Magloczky, Zsofia; Morales, Marisela

The rodent ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNC) contain dopamine neurons intermixed with glutamate neurons (expressing vesicular glutamate transporter 2; VGluT2), which play roles in reward and aversion. However, identifying the neuronal compositions of the VTA and SNC in higher mammals has remained challenging…

Distinct Fos-Expressing Neuronal Ensembles in the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Mediate Food Reward and Extinction Memories

Featured Paper of the Month – November 2016
Published in The Journal of Neuroscience by Warren, Brandon L; Mendoza, Michael P; Cruz, Fabio C; Leao, Rodrigo M; Caprioli, Daniele; Rubio, Javier F; Whitaker, Leslie R; McPherson, Kylie B; Bossert, Jennifer M; Shaham, Yavin; Hope, Bruce T

In operant learning, initial reward-associated memories are thought to be distinct from subsequent extinction-associated memories. Memories formed during operant learning are thought to be stored in “neuronal ensembles.” Thus, we hypothesize that different neuronal ensembles encode reward- and extinction-associated memories…