Nucleus accumbens

Recent articles

Two prairie voles.

Oxytocin prompts prairie voles to oust outsiders, fortifying their friendships

The “love hormone” drives the neurobiology behind platonic bonds in animals usually studied for their romantic attachments.

By Holly Barker
8 August 2025 | 7 min read
Research image of serotonin and dopamine neurons manipulated simultaneously in mice.

Dopamine ‘gas pedal’ and serotonin ‘brake’ team up to accelerate learning

Mice learn fastest and most reliably when they experience an increase in dopamine paired with an inhibition of serotonin in their nucleus accumbens, a new study shows, helping to resolve long-standing questions about the neuromodulators’ relationship.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 February 2025 | 5 min read
Two prairie voles touch snouts in a tank.

Brain gene expression syncs between bonded prairie voles

The overlapping activity in the animals’ nucleus accumbens may underpin pair bonding, a new preprint suggests.

By Shaena Montanari
10 January 2025 | 5 min read
A diagram of green neurnons

Cocaine, morphine commandeer neurons normally activated by food, water in mice

Confirming a long-held hypothesis, repeated exposure to the drugs alters neurons in the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s reward center, and curbs an animal’s urge for sustenance.

By Lauren Schenkman
8 May 2024 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

A mouse stands on a gloved hand.

Psychedelics research in rodents has a behavior problem

Simple behavioral assays—originally validated as drug-screening tools—fall short in studies that aim to unpack the psychedelic mechanism of action, so some behavioral neuroscientists are developing more nuanced tasks.

By Calli McMurray
19 December 2025 | 8 min read
Research image of organoids derived from stem cell lines from people with intellectual disability, polymicroglia or microcephaly, alongside a control organoid.

New organoid atlas unveils four neurodevelopmental signatures

The comprehensive resource details data on microcephaly, polymicrogyria, epilepsy and intellectual disability from 352 people.

By Diana Kwon
17 December 2025 | 4 min read

Can neuroscientists decode memories solely from a map of synaptic connections?

Five experts discuss the progress, possibilities and hurdles of decoding a “nontrivial” memory from an organism just by analyzing its brain connectivity patterns.

By Paul Middlebrooks
17 December 2025 | 1 min read

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