Dartmouth Events

Please join us for a colloquium in Moore BO3 on Thursday, April 24, 2025, starting at 1:05 p.m., given by Talia Lerner, Associate Professor, Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Associate Director, Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Title:  Compulsive Reward-Seeking: Roles for Dopamine, Synaptic Plasticity, and Stress

Abstract:  Compulsive behavior is a defining feature of substance use disorder and other addictive disorders. We have modeled compulsive behavior in mice using a reinforcement training paradigm (RI60) that leads to habitual and punishment-resistant reward-seeking. Next, by using fiber photometry and optogenetics to measure and manipulate dopamine signals in vivo during the development of punishment-resistant reward-seeking, we can determine how dopamine signals contribute to this addiction-relevant behavior. I will review a mix of published and unpublished evidence from my laboratory showing which spatiotemporally specific aspects of dopamine signaling are related to the development of compulsions. Further, I will show how a history of adolescent stress fundamentally alters the dopamine circuits that are engaged in the development of compulsions, a finding that has implications for the treatment of addictive disorders based on individuals’ experiences with stress during development.

Coffee, tea, and cider donuts will be available a few minutes before and after the talk in the foyer space outside of Moore .