Motivated States

How neural circuits dynamically shift between adaptive and maladaptive motivated states?

Relapse remains a significant barrier to long-term recovery, often driven by negative affective states and external drug-associated cues, which can trigger compulsive drug-seeking behavior even after prolonged abstinence. By characterizing the sex-specific roles of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) to nucleus accumbens (NAc) connectivity in opioid relapse, this work has the potential to uncover novel circuit-based therapeutic targets for preventing relapse and improving treatment outcomes for opioid use disorder