Negative social experiences during adolescence are central features for several stress-
related mental illnesses. Social play fighting behavior in rats peaks during early …

Dysregulation of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)–urocortin (UCN) system has been
implicated in stress-related psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety. It has been …

The most common form of stress encountered by people stems from one's social
environment and is perceived as more intense than other types of stressors. One feature that …

This chapter describes regulation of the stress hormones and their measurement and
interpretation in psychophysiological research. A hormone is a signaling molecule, secreted …

Many psychiatric disorders are characterized by circadian rhythm abnormalities, including
disturbed sleep/wake cycles, changes in locomotor activity, and abnormal endocrine …

Based on their pharmacological properties, psychoactive drugs are supposed to take control
of the natural reward system to finally drive compulsory drug seeking and consumption …

Dopamine (DA) is a behaviorally and clinically diverse neuromodulator that controls CNS
function. DA plays major roles in many behaviors including locomotion, learning, habit …

The chronic social defeat stress model has been instrumental in shaping our understanding
of neurobiology relevant to affect-related illnesses, including major depressive disorder …

Rationale Stress activates a subset of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area
(VTA), increasing extracellular dopamine in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and …

Stress and substance use disorders remain two of the most highly prevalent psychiatric
conditions and are often comorbid. While individually these conditions have a debilitating …