Featured Paper of the Month – June 2021 Published in Communications Biology by Christopher Cover and Hanbing Lu, et al. in the NIDA IRP Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Section. Summary Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can image brain dynamics while a human subject engages in a goal-directed task, it has proven extremely challenging to… [Read More]
Featured Paper of the Month
Beyond abstinence and relapse II: momentary relationships between stress, craving, and lapse within clusters of patients with similar patterns of drug use
Featured Paper of the Month – May 2021 Published in Psychopharmacology by Leigh V Panlilio, et al. in the NIDA IRP Real-world Assessment, Prediction, and Treatment Unit. Summary Despite the popular conception that people in treatment for opioid addiction either become abstinent or relapse into a spiral of continuous drug use, many actually continue using drugs… [Read More]
Time-Varying Functional Connectivity Decreases as a Function of Acute Nicotine Abstinence
Featured Paper of the Month – April 2021 Published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging by John Fedota, Ph.D. and Thomas Ross, Ph.D., et al. in the NIDA IRP Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience of Addiction Section. Summary Quitting smoking is hard. This is largely due to the nicotine withdrawal syndrome. Withdrawal from cigarettes is… [Read More]
Dissecting the Role of GABA Neurons in the VTA versus SNr in Opioid Reward
Featured Paper of the Month – March 2021 Published in The Journal of Neuroscience by Ewa Galaj, Ph.D. Ph.D. and Zheng-Xiong Xi, M.D., Ph.D., et al. in the NIDA IRP Addiction Biology Unit. Summary Opioid reward has long been believed to be mediated by inhibition of VTA GABA interneurons that disinhibits DA neurons. In this… [Read More]
Novel Fluorescent Ligands Enable Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy of the Dopamine Transporter
Featured Paper of the Month – February 2021 The dopamine transporter (DAT) functions to control dopaminergic neurotransmission and is a target for therapeutic agents, including ADHD medications, as well as abused substances, such as cocaine. Here, we develop new fluorescently labeled ligands as promising new tools for studying DAT localization and regulation with single-molecule resolution…. [Read More]
Compulsive methamphetamine taking induces autophagic and apoptotic markers in the rat dorsal striatum
Featured Paper of the Month – January 2021 The use of methamphetamine (METH) is very prevalent throughout the world. METH can cause anxiety, psychosis, seizures, and death. Previous research in the Cadet Lab has shown that METH can cause neurodegeneration when the drug is injected by investigators. It was therefore important to find out if… [Read More]
Exception That Proves the Rule: Investigation of Privileged Stereochemistry in Designing Dopamine D3R Bitopic Agonists
Featured Paper of the Month – December 2020 In this study, starting from our highly selective and potent D3R agonist 5 , we further investigated the chemical space around the linker portion of the molecule, via insertion of a hydroxyl substituent and ring-expansion of the trans cyclopropyl moiety into a trans -cyclohexyl scaffold. Moreover, inspired… [Read More]
Positive Allosteric Modulation of the 5-HT1A Receptor by Indole-Based Synthetic Cannabinoids Abused by Humans
Featured Paper of the Month – November 2020. The nonmedical (i.e., recreational) misuse of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) is a worldwide public health problem. When compared to cannabis, the misuse of SCs is associated with a higher incidence of serious adverse effects, suggesting the possible involvement of noncannabinoid sites of action. Here, we find that, unlike… [Read More]
Modafinil potentiates cocaine self-administration by a dopamine-independent mechanism: possible involvement of gap junctions
Featured Paper of the Month – October 2020. Modafinil and methylphenidate are clinically available medications that inhibit the reuptake of dopamine in neurons, a common mechanism with psychostimulants like cocaine. We investigated the reinforcing actions of modafinil or methylphenidate alone and in combination with cocaine, in rats. While rats did not self-administer modafinil, suggesting low… [Read More]
The mechanism of a high-affinity allosteric inhibitor of the serotonin transporter
Featured Paper of the Month – September 2020. The serotonin transporter (SERT) terminates serotonin signaling by rapid presynaptic reuptake. SERT activity is modulated by antidepressants, e.g., S-citalopram and imipramine, to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. SERT crystal structures reveal two S-citalopram binding pockets in the central binding (S1) site and the extracellular vestibule (S2… [Read More]
