Drug addiction represents a dramatic dysregulation of motivational circuits that is caused by
a combination of exaggerated incentive salience and habit formation, reward deficits and …

Dopamine-releasing neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have central roles in
reward-related and goal-directed behaviours. VTA dopamine-releasing neurons are …

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is well known for regulating reward consumption, learning,
memory, and addiction behaviors through mediating dopamine (DA) release in downstream …

Critical features of human addiction are increasingly being incorporated into complementary
animal models, including escalation of drug intake, punished drug seeking and taking …

The physiological stress response is responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis in the
presence of real or perceived challenges. In this function, the brain activates adaptive …

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) regulate the rewarding actions of
nicotine contained in tobacco that establish and maintain the smoking habit. nAChRs also …

Opioids are the most potent analgesics in clinical use; however, their powerful rewarding
properties can lead to addiction. The scientific challenge is to retain analgesic potency while …

Over the last decade, the understanding of the habenula has rapidly advanced from being
an understudied brain area with the Latin name 'habena” meaning “little rein”, to being …

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 …

A concatenation of findings from preclinical and clinical studies support a preeminent
function for the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system in mediating the physiological …