Topic: sucrose

Cocaine and sugar act as appetitive stimuli, engaging the brain's dopaminergic system to induce positive experiences. While both substances trigger dopamine release, cocaine additionally blocks its reuptake. Dopamine-sensitive neurons, particularly those expressing DRD1 or DRD2, play a pivotal role in mediating these effects. Such cells were recently discovered in the Central Amygdala (CeA), a brain region involved in regulating various emotions, both aversive and appetitive. Given the limited research on the role of dopamine in this brain region, we studied the activity of dopamine-sensitive

The level of dietary protein is expected to be crucial for food preference because of its essential role in maintaining homeostasis. Here, we used Feeding Experimentation Devices (FED3s) to assess food preference and foraging behaviour of protein-restricted vs. control mice. Details are shown in graphical methodology; briefly, adult C57BL/6NRj mice were maintained either on protein-restricted (5% casein: PR) or non-restricted diet (20% casein: NR). Food-preference was tested in four 3-days-apart choice sessions each lasting 24h during which mice were individually placed in a cage with access t

An influential model of addiction proposes that repeated exposure to addictive drugs results in overvaluation of drug cues and long-lasting cue-drug associations, which results in heightened motivation to seek drugs upon exposure to these cues. This model focuses on the role of midbrain dopamine neurons in forming these associations, known as cue reactivity. However, the neurophysiological responses of non-dopamine neurons to cues predicting opioids vs. natural rewards have not been examined previously. Multi-unit electrophysiological recordings were collected from the midbrain of adult Long-E