Among the neurotransmitters involved in addiction, dopamine (DA) is clearly the best known.
The critical role of DA in addiction is supported by converging evidence that has been …

Although both men and women become addicted to drugs of abuse, women transition to
addiction faster, experience greater difficulties remaining abstinent, and relapse more often …

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) shed by neurons and glia in the central nervous system carry a
cargo of specific bioactive molecules, facilitating intercellular communication. However, in …

Pathways arising from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) release dopamine and other
neurotransmitters during the expectation and achievement of reward, and are regarded as …

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a brain region processing salient sensory and emotional
information, controlling motivated behaviors, natural or drug-related reward, reward-related …

Though neurotransmitters are essential elements in neuronal signal transduction,
techniques for in vivo analysis are still limited. Here, we describe an organic electrochemical …

The habenula (Hb) is a phylogenetically old epithalamic structure differentiated into two
nuclear complexes, the medial (MHb) and lateral habenula (LHb). After decades of search …

Profound inhibitory control exerted on midbrain dopaminergic neurons by the lateral
habenula (LHb), which has mainly excitatory outputs, is mediated by the GABAergic …

Between 2005 and 2009, several research groups identified a strikingly dense inhibitory
input to midbrain dopamine neurons arising from a previously uncharted region posterior to …

Persistence of reward seeking despite punishment or other negative consequences is a
defining feature of mania and addiction, and numerous brain regions have been implicated …