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 …

Gambling disorder is an impairing condition confounded by psychiatric co-morbidity,
particularly with substance use and anxiety disorders. Yet, our knowledge of the …

Both the ostensibly aversive effects of unpredictable episodes of social stress and the
intensely rewarding effects of drugs of abuse activate the mesocorticolimbic dopamine …

Social stress in adulthood enhances cocaine self‐administration, an effect that has been
related with an increase in extracellular signal‐regulated kinase and p38α mitogen …

Background There is evidence that substance use disorders and other mental disorders may
have shared biological mechanisms. However, the neurobiological basis of this comorbidity …

Our ability to develop the cognitive strategies required to deal with daily-life stress is
regulated by region-specific neuronal networks. Experimental evidence suggests that …

Enkephalins, endogenous ligands for delta opioid receptors (DORs), are highly enriched in
the nucleus accumbens (NAc). They are implicated in depression but their role in the NAc, a …

Gambling disorder (GD) frequently co-occurs with alcohol use and anxiety disorders,
suggesting possible shared mechanisms. Recent research suggests reward uncertainty may …

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays a critical role in the regulation of social and
emotional behaviors. OXT plays a role in stress response and in drug reward, but to date no …

Social interaction is known to be the main source of stress in human beings, which explains
the translational importance of this research in animals. Evidence reported over the last …