The last decade has seen major advances in neuroscience tools allowing us to selectively
modulate cellular pathways in freely moving animals. Chemogenetic approaches such as …

In many human alcoholics, abstinence is self-imposed because of the negative consequences
of excessive alcohol use, and relapse is often triggered by exposure to environmental …

Eating is a learned process. Our desires for specific foods arise through experience. Both
electrical stimulation and optogenetic studies have shown that increased activity in the lateral …

Orexins (hypocretins) are critically involved in coordinating appropriate physiological and
behavioral responses to aversive and threatening stimuli. Acute stressors engage orexin …

The tight regulation of sleep/wake states is critical for mental and physiological wellbeing.
For example, dysregulation of sleep/wake systems predisposes individuals to metabolic …

Humans with alcohol use disorder typically abstain because of the negative consequences
associated with excessive drinking, and exposure to contexts previously associated with …

Contexts exert bi-directional control over relapse to drug seeking. Contexts associated with
drug self-administration promote relapse, whereas contexts associated with the absence of …

Early life stress (ELS) is a known antecedent for the development of mood disorders such
as depression. Orexin neurons drive arousal and motivated behaviors in response to stress. …

Alcohol use disorder is a complex syndrome with multiple treatment points including drug-induced
pathology, withdrawal management, behavioral/cognitive strategies, and relapse …

Results from clinical studies suggest that drug relapse and craving are often provoked by
exposure to drug-associated contexts. Since 2002, this phenomenon has been modeled in …