Mu opioid receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens shell increases responsiveness of satiety-modulated lateral hypothalamus neurons.

Opioid signaling in the nucleus accumbens shell (sNAcc) has been implicated in hedonic feeding and binge eating behavior. The sNAcc projects to the lateral hypothalamus (LH), and this pathway has been suggested to modulate palatability-driven feeding behavior. In this study, we investigated the effects of sNAcc mu opioid receptor (MOR) stimulation on firing rates of LH neurons in previously sated rats.

Excitation of lateral habenula neurons as a neural mechanism underlying ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion.

Key Points: The lateral habenula (LHb) has been implicated in regulation of drug-seeking behaviours through aversion-mediated learning. In this study, we recorded neuronal activity in the LHb of rats during an operant task before and after ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to saccharin. Ethanol-induced CTA caused significantly higher baseline firing rates in LHb neurons, as well as elevated firing rates in response to cue presentation, lever press and saccharin taste.

Lesions of the lateral habenula increase voluntary ethanol consumption and operant self-administration, block yohimbine-induced reinstatement of ethanol seeking, and attenuate ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion.

The lateral habenula (LHb) plays an important role in learning driven by negative outcomes. Many drugs of abuse, including ethanol, have dose-dependent aversive effects that act to limit intake of the drug. However, the role of the LHb in regulating ethanol intake is unknown.

Complete reorganization of the motor cortex of adult rats following long-term spinal cord injuries.

Understanding brain reorganization following long-term spinal cord injuries is important for optimizing recoveries based on residual function as well as developing brain-controlled assistive devices. Although it has been shown that the motor cortex undergoes partial reorganization within a few weeks after peripheral and spinal cord injuries, it is not known if the motor cortex of rats is capable of large-scale reorganization after longer recovery periods. Here we determined the organization of the rat (Rattus norvegicus) motor cortex at 5 or more months after chronic lesions of the spinal cord at cervical levels using intracortical microstimulation.

Appetitive changes during salt deprivation are paralleled by widespread neuronal adaptations in nucleus accumbens, lateral hypothalamus, and central amygdala.

Salt appetite is a goal-directed behavior in which salt-deprived animals ingest high salt concentrations that they otherwise find aversive. Because forebrain areas such as the lateral hypothalamus (LH), central amygdala (CeA), and nucleus accumbens (NAc) are known to play an important role in this behavior, we recorded from these areas while water-deprived (WD) and salt-deprived (SD) rats performed a two-bottle choice test between 0.5 M salt (NaCl) and 0.

Reorganization of the primary motor cortex of adult macaque monkeys after sensory loss resulting from partial spinal cord injuries.

Long-term injuries to the dorsal columns of the spinal cord at cervical levels result in large-scale somatotopic reorganization of the somatosensory areas of the cortex and the ventroposterior nucleus of the thalamus. As a result of this reorganization, intact inputs from the face expand into the deafferented hand representations. Dorsal column injuries also result in permanent deficits in the use of digits for precision grip and a loss of fractionated movements of the digits.

Large-scale expansion of the face representation in somatosensory areas of the lateral sulcus after spinal cord injuries in monkeys.

Transection of dorsal columns of the spinal cord in adult monkeys results in large-scale expansion of the face inputs into the deafferented hand region in the primary somatosensory cortex (area 3b) and the ventroposterior nucleus of thalamus. Here, we determined whether the upstream cortical areas, secondary somatosensory (S2) and parietal ventral (PV) areas, also undergo reorganization after lesions of the dorsal columns. Areas S2, PV, and 3b were mapped after long-term unilateral lesions of the dorsal columns at cervical levels in adult macaque monkeys.

Overlapping representations of the neck and whiskers in the rat motor cortex revealed by mapping at different anaesthetic depths.

The primary motor cortex of mammals has an orderly representation of different body parts. Within the representation of each body part the organization is more complex, with groups of neurons representing movements of a muscle or a group of muscles. In rats, uncertainties continue to exist regarding organization of the primary motor cortex in the whisker and the neck region.