research overview
- We utilize molecular, electrophysiological, imaging, and viral-based approaches to define, observe, and manipulate the specific neurons and pathways that govern seeking rewards, aversion avoidance, addiction, and depression.
- Contact Info
Root, David H
Positions
- Assistant Professor, Psychology and Neuroscience
Research Areas
Research
keywords
- reward, aversion, addiction, self-administration, depression, learning, ventral tegmental area, dopamine, gaba, glutamate
Publications
selected publications
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chapter
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conference proceeding
- Sex differences in behavior and hippocampal mRNA expression following stress-enhanced fear learning (SEFL) model eliciting the incubation of generalized fear and anxiety-like endophenotypes. 2023
- Nighttime Red Light Sensitivity in Laboratory Rodents: Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Activation, Melatonin Suppression, and Phase Shifted Wheel Running 2022
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journal article
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Monosynaptic Inputs to Ventral Tegmental Area Glutamate and GABA Co-transmitting Neurons..
The Journal of Neuroscience.
2024
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Ventral tegmental area glutamate neurons mediate nonassociative consequences of stress.
Molecular Psychiatry.
2024
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Ventral tegmental area glutamate neurons establish a mu-opioid receptor gated circuit to mesolimbic dopamine neurons and regulate opioid-seeking behavior.
Neuropsychopharmacology.
1889-1900.
2023
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Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis GABA neurons are necessary for changes in foraging behaviour following an innate threat.
European Journal of Neuroscience.
3630-3649.
2023
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Combining RNAscope and immunohistochemistry to visualize inflammatory gene products in neurons and microglia.
Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience.
2023
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Elevated prefrontal dopamine interferes with the stress-buffering properties of behavioral control in female rats.
Neuropsychopharmacology.
498-507.
2023
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Neuromedin U: a neuropeptide modulator of GABA transmission contributes to cocaine seeking.
Neuropsychopharmacology.
1873-1874.
2022
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A Semi-Automated Workflow for Brain Slice Histology Alignment, Registration, and Cell Quantification (SHARCQ).
eNeuro.
2022
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Neurochemical Signaling of Reward and Aversion to Ventral Tegmental Area Glutamate Neurons.
The Journal of Neuroscience.
5471-5486.
2021
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Oral prescription opioid-seeking behavior in male and female mice.
Addiction Biology.
2020
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Distinct Signaling by Ventral Tegmental Area Glutamate, GABA, and Combinatorial Glutamate-GABA Neurons in Motivated Behavior.
Cell Reports.
2020
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Neurochemical signaling of reward and aversion by ventral tegmental area glutamate neurons
2020
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Ventral pallidum: a promising target for addiction intervention.
Neuropsychopharmacology.
2151-2152.
2019
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Selective Brain Distribution and Distinctive Synaptic Architecture of Dual Glutamatergic-GABAergic Neurons.
Cell Reports.
3465-3479.
2018
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Aversion or Salience Signaling by Ventral Tegmental Area Glutamate Neurons.
iScience.
51-+.
2018
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Lateral Preoptic Control of the Lateral Habenula through Convergent Glutamate and GABA Transmission.
Cell Reports.
1757-1769.
2017
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Review of the cytology and connections of the lateral habenula, an avatar of adaptive behaving.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior.
3-21.
2017
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Glutamate neurons are intermixed with midbrain dopamine neurons in nonhuman primates and humans.
Scientific Reports.
2016
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Multiplexed neurochemical signaling by neurons of the ventral tegmental area.
Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy.
33-42.
2016
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The ventral pallidum: Subregion-specific functional anatomy and roles in motivated behaviors.
Progress in Neurobiology.
29-70.
2015
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Sensitivity to self-administered cocaine within the lateral preoptic–rostral lateral hypothalamic continuum.
Brain Structure and Function.
1841-1854.
2015
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Norepinephrine activates dopamine D4 receptors in the rat lateral habenula..
The Journal of Neuroscience.
3460-3469.
2015
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GLUTAMATE NEURONS WITHIN THE MIDBRAIN DOPAMINE REGIONS.
Neuroscience.
60-68.
2014
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Single rodent mesohabenular axons release glutamate and GABA.
Nature Neuroscience.
1543-1551.
2014
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Role of Glutamatergic Projections from Ventral Tegmental Area to Lateral Habenula in Aversive Conditioning.
The Journal of Neuroscience.
13906-13910.
2014
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Rat ultrasonic vocalizations demonstrate that the motivation to contextually reinstate cocaine-seeking behavior does not necessarily involve a hedonic response.
Addiction Biology.
781-790.
2014
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Olfactory Tubercle Neurons Exhibit Slow-Phasic Firing Patterns During Cocaine Self-Administration.
Synapse (New York).
321-323.
2014
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Ultrasonic vocalizations: evidence for an affective opponent process during cocaine self-administration.
Psychopharmacology.
909-918.
2014
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A Procedure for Implanting Organized Arrays of Microwires for Single-unit Recordings in Awake, Behaving Animals.
Journal of Visualized Experiments.
2014
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The Ventromedial Ventral Pallidum Subregion Is Necessary for Outcome-Specific Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer.
The Journal of Neuroscience.
18707-18709.
2013
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Amphetamine's dose-dependent effects on dorsolateral striatum sensorimotor neuron firing.
Behavioural Brain Research.
152-161.
2013
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Differential roles of ventral pallidum subregions during cocaine self-administration behaviors.
Journal of Comparative Neurology.
558-588.
2013
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Effects of varying reinforcement probability on pavlovian approach behavior and ultrasonic vocalizations in rats.
Behavioural Brain Research.
256-262.
2013
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Slow phasic and tonic activity of ventral pallidal neurons during cocaine self-administration.
Synapse (New York).
106-127.
2012
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Emerging, reemerging, and forgotten brain areas of the reward circuit: Notes from the 2010 Motivational Neural Networks conference.
Behavioural Brain Research.
348-357.
2011
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Evidence for learned skill during cocaine self-administration in rats.
Psychopharmacology.
91-100.
2011
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Dose-dependent differences in short ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by rats during cocaine self-administration.
Psychopharmacology.
435-442.
2010
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Rapid Phasic Activity of Ventral Pallidal Neurons During Cocaine Self-Administration.
Synapse (New York).
704-713.
2010
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Absence of cue-evoked firing in rat dorsolateral striatum neurons.
Behavioural Brain Research.
23-32.
2010
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Decreased Firing of Striatal Neurons Related to Licking during Acquisition and Overtraining of a Licking Task.
The Journal of Neuroscience.
13952-13961.
2009
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Evidence for Habitual and Goal-Directed Behavior Following Devaluation of Cocaine: A Multifaceted Interpretation of Relapse.
PLoS One.
e7170-e7170.
2009
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Duality of salience in dopamine neurons.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA.
E84-E84.
2009
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Effects of REM deprivation and an NMDA agonist on the extinction of conditioned fear.
Physiology and Behavior.
274-281.
2008
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Monosynaptic Inputs to Ventral Tegmental Area Glutamate and GABA Co-transmitting Neurons..
The Journal of Neuroscience.
2024
Teaching
courses taught
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NRSC 4011 - Senior Thesis
Primary Instructor - Spring 2020 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024
Senior Thesis credits are available for students during the semester that they write and defend a departmental Honors Thesis. A neuroscience honors thesis must be based on an empirical research project that the student directs/participates in under guidance from a faculty member. Contact the neuroscience director for further information. -
NRSC 4032 - Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Provides a comprehensive treatment of how the brain acquires, stores, and retrieves memories. To do this we will consider (a) the methods used to address these issues, (b) what we know about how brain systems are organized to support memories of different types,and (c) the synaptic mechanisms that are involved. Same as NRSC 5032. -
NRSC 5100 - Introduction to Neuroscience I
Primary Instructor - Fall 2020 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2024
This first course in the year-long sequence of introduction to neuroscience provides an intensive introduction to the principles of neuroscience, covering detailed neuroanatomy, physiology, neurophysiology, neurochemical and developmental characteristics of the central nervous system. Structure-function relationships in sensory and motor systems are then explored with neuroanatomical and electrophysiological perspectives. Students enrolled in the Behavioral Neuroscience Program should enroll in this course for 4 credits. All other students should enroll in this course for 3 credits. -
NRSC 7102 - Topics in Neuroscience
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2023
Advanced seminar dealing with different specialized topics in neuroscience. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Instructor consent required for students outside of the department.
Background
education and training
- Ph.D., Rutgers University Camden Campus 2012
- M.S., Seton Hall University 2006
- B.S., Western New England College 2004