The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) has for decades been acknowledged to
be an important node in the limbic system, but studies of emotional processing generally fail …

The interconnected nuclei of the ventral basal ganglia have long been identified as key
regulators of motivated behavior, and dysfunction of this circuit is strongly implicated in …

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays an important role in motivation and reward processing.
Recent studies suggest that different NAc subnuclei differentially contribute to reward …

Learned associations between environmental cues and the outcomes they predict (cue-
outcome associations) play a major role in behavioral control, guiding not only which …

Although medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is known to play important roles in social
behaviors, how early social experiences affect the mPFC and its subcortical circuit remains …

Dopamine (DA) level in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is critical for reward and aversion
encoding. DA released from the ventral mesencephalon (VM) DAergic neurons increases …

Suppression of dangerous or inappropriate reward-motivated behaviors is critical for
survival, whereas therapeutic or recreational opioid use can unleash detrimental behavioral …

Hedonic feeding is driven by the “pleasure” derived from consuming palatable food and
occurs in the absence of metabolic need. It plays a critical role in the excessive feeding that …

Elevated impulsivity is a symptom shared by various psychiatric disorders such as
substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder …

The paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) is highly interconnected with brain areas that
control reward-seeking behavior. Despite this known connectivity, broad manipulations of …