Abstract Brain-stimulation reward, also known as intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), is a commonly used procedure for studying brain reward function and…
Abstract Brain levels of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) shape motivated behavior and nucleus accumbens (NAc) dopamine release. However, it is…
Abstract The prefrontal cortex plays a central role in the control of complex cognitive processes including action control and decision…
Abstract Substance use escalates between adolescence and young adulthood, and most experimentation occurs among peers. To understand underlying mechanisms, research…
Abstract Gut-brain signaling controls food intake and energy homeostasis, and its activity is thought to be dysregulated in obesity. We…
Abstract Today it is well acknowledged that both nature and nurture play important roles in the genesis of psychopathologies, including…
Abstract Decision-making is an ethologically adaptive construct that is impaired in multiple psychiatric disorders. Activity within the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system…
Abstract The opioid system consists of three receptors, mu, delta, and kappa, which are activated by endogenous opioid peptides (enkephalins,…
Abstract Emerging findings suggest the existence of a cross-talk between hypocretinergic and endocannabinoid systems. Although few studies have examined this…