Journal ArticleNeuron · December 2022
Goal-directed behavior is often studied under food- and water-restricted states. A study by Matteucci et al.1 in this issue of Neuron reveals that task performance and sensorimotor cortical encoding are impaired under both low and high motivatio ...
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Journal ArticleCell reports · November 2020
Motivational states consist of cognitive, emotional, and physiological components controlled by multiple brain regions. An integral component of this neural circuitry is the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Here, we identify that neurons within ...
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Journal ArticleThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · January 2020
The central nucleus of the amygdala plays a significant role in alcohol use and other affective disorders; however, the genetically-defined neuronal subtypes and projections that govern these behaviors are not well known. Here we show that neurotensin neur ...
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Journal ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.) · June 2019
The current obesity epidemic is a major worldwide health concern. Despite the consensus that the brain regulates energy homeostasis, the neural adaptations governing obesity are unknown. Using a combination of high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing and ...
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Journal ArticlePhysiology & behavior · March 2017
The hypothalamus contains numerous nuclei involved in the regulation of reproductive, stress, circadian, and homeostatic behaviors, with many of these nuclei concentrated within the preoptic and anterior regions. The gaseous neurotransmitter, nitric oxide ...
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Journal ArticleNature neuroscience · March 2017
Neural networks that control reproduction must integrate social and hormonal signals, tune motivation, and coordinate social interactions. However, the neural circuit mechanisms for these processes remain unresolved. The medial preoptic area (mPOA), an ess ...
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Journal ArticleNature · March 2017
The prefrontal cortex is a critical neuroanatomical hub for controlling motivated behaviours across mammalian species. In addition to intra-cortical connectivity, prefrontal projection neurons innervate subcortical structures that contribute to reward-seek ...
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Journal ArticleNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · February 2017
Several neuropsychiatric conditions, such as addiction and schizophrenia, may arise in part from dysregulated activity of ventral tegmental area dopaminergic (THVTA) neurons, as well as from more global maladaptation in neurocircuit function. Ho ...
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Journal ArticleBehavioral neuroscience · October 2016
The transcription factor deltaFosB (ΔFosB) is induced in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) by repeated exposure to drugs of abuse and natural rewards. Less is known about its role in other brain areas. Here, we compared the effects of mating versus cocaine histo ...
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Journal ArticleNature protocols · March 2016
Genetically encoded calcium indicators for visualizing dynamic cellular activity have greatly expanded our understanding of the brain. However, owing to the light-scattering properties of the brain, as well as the size and rigidity of traditional imaging t ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · February 2016
Phasic dopamine signaling participates in associative learning by reinforcing associations between outcomes (unconditioned stimulus; US) and their predictors (conditioned stimulus; CS). However, prior work has always engendered these associations with inna ...
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Journal ArticleFrontiers in neuroendocrinology · July 2015
Postpartum neuropsychiatric disorders are a major source of morbidity and mortality and affect at least 10% of childbearing women. Affective dysregulation within this context has been identified in association with changes in reproductive steroids. Steroid ...
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Journal ArticleFrontiers in neuroendocrinology · January 2014
Compelling evidence exists for pervasive sex differences in pathological conditions, including anxiety and depressive disorders, with females more than twice as likely to be afflicted. Gonadal hormones may be a major factor in this disparity, given that wo ...
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Thesis Dissertation · 2013
Mating is a socially rewarding experience that yields protective benefits to health, confers resistance to stress, and lowers anxiety-related behaviors in a number of mammalian species, including humans and rodents. These beneficial effects may stem from h ...
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Journal ArticleBehavioral neuroscience · August 2012
The medial preoptic area (MPOA) is an integral site for male sexual behavior. Dopamine is released in the MPOA before and during copulation and facilitates male rat sexual behavior. Repeated sexual experience and noncopulatory exposures to an estrous femal ...
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Journal ArticleBehavioral neuroscience · February 2012
Systemic injections of an NMDA antagonist have been shown to impair mating in male rats. One site where glutamate and its NMDA receptors may contribute to mating is the medial preoptic area (MPOA), which is vital for male sexual behavior. Glutamate is rele ...
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