Sex differences in sensitivity to dopamine receptor manipulations of risk-based decision making in rats
The scientific literature has shown that females demonstrate more aversion to risk-taking than males. Studies have also demonstrated that the basal lateral amygdala, or BLA, is a critical hub for proc...
15 Jan 20259min
Biomarker development for menstrual Cycle affective change: the need for greater temporal, mechanistic, and phenotypic specificity.
The menstrual cycle is known to affect things like mood and changes in pain. But there can also be symptoms that have a serious impact on a person’s function, ability to work, ability to maintain frie...
2 Dec 20249min
Genome-wide association studies of coffee intake in UK/US participants of European ancestry uncover cohort-specific genetic associations
Researchers are interested in understanding the biology of why some people are more likely to overconsume substances. Some substances are difficult to study—people might not admit to illegal substance...
21 Aug 20249min
C-reactive protein moderates associations between racial discrimination and ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation during attention to threat in Black American women
Scientists have been amassing an increasing amount of evidence about the impact of racial discrimination and racial trauma, including how it can have an impact on brain regions involved with threat vi...
21 Juni 20249min
Ghrelin decreases sensitivity to negative feedback and increases prediction-error related caudate activity in humans, a randomized controlled trial
There’s a hormone called ghrelin that’s secreted in the stomach, and when someone is hungry it contributes to that feeling of hunger and the need to search for food. But neurological studies have sugg...
6 Maj 20249min
Spotlighting SHAPERS: Sex hormones associated with psychological and endocrine roles
Dr. Nicole Petersen is an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UCLA. Her commentary is a new paper in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, called “Spotlightin...
5 Mars 20249min
Comparable roles for serotonin in rats and humans for computations underlying flexible decision-making
Serotonin is a critical chemical when it comes to a number of psychiatric conditions, such as OCD, where it seems to play a particular role in cognitive flexibility. That is, serotonin levels are rela...
4 Jan 20249min
Integrating public health and translational basic science to address challenges of xylazine adulteration of fentanyl
The drug naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan, is a critical tool in reversing fentanyl overdoses and reducing mortality. But now fentanyl is appearing on the streets adulterated with a drug called xyl...
16 Okt 20239min
