# overview
Our research focuses on identifying the neurobiological basis of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as drug alcohol use disorders. We investigate the cellular and circuit alterations that occur in areas of the brain in response to excessive, pathological alcohol consumption. We are particularly interested in changes that occur in specific populations of neurons and in specific afferent projections to these neurons. We are also interested in contributions of these changes to excessive, pathological alcohol consumption. The result of the research will guide future efforts toward the development of more effective therapeutics for alcohol use disorders.

# keywords[]
Receptor-Like Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Class 4

# keywords[]
3214 Pharmacology And Pharmaceutical Sciences

# keywords[]
Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

# keywords[]
3214 Pharmacology And Pharmaceutical Sciences

# keywords[]
Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

# keywords[]
Habenula-projecting Globus Pallidus Neurons, Gph

# keywords[]
Direct-pathway Medium Spiny Neurons, Dmsns

# keywords[]
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

# keywords[]
Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

# keywords[]
3214 Pharmacology And Pharmaceutical Sciences

# keywords[]
Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of California, Berkeley - (Berkeley, California, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Chinese Academy of Sciences - (Beijing, Beijing, China)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Gladstone Institutes - (San Francisco, California, United States)

# publications[].label
Dopamine D1 or D2 receptor-expressing neurons in the central nervous system.

# publications[].label
Optogenetic induction of orbitostriatal long-term potentiation in the dorsomedial striatum elicits a persistent reduction of alcohol-seeking behavior in rats.

# publications[].label
Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol Induces Functional and Structural Plasticity in Dopamine D1 Receptor-Expressing Neurons of the Dorsomedial Striatum.

# publications[].label
Stroke triggers nigrostriatal plasticity and increases alcohol consumption in rats.

# publications[].label
Chronic alcohol drinking persistently suppresses thalamostriatal excitation of cholinergic neurons to impair cognitive flexibility

# publications[].label
Photolysis-induced suppression of inhibition in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons.

# publications[].label
Protein tyrosine phosphatase  in the dorsomedial striatum promotes excessive ethanol-drinking behaviors.

# publications[].label
Mind bomb-2 is an E3 ligase that ubiquitinates the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor NR2B subunit in a phosphorylation-dependent manner.

# publications[].label
Striatal involvement in human alcoholism and alcohol consumption, and withdrawal in animal models.

# publications[].label
Ethanol induces long-term facilitation of NR2B-NMDA receptor activity in the dorsal striatum: implications for alcohol drinking behavior.

# publications[].label
Aberrant excitatory neuronal activity and compensatory remodeling of inhibitory hippocampal circuits in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.

# publications[].label
DISTINCT SYNAPTIC STRENGTHENING OF THE STRATAL DIRECT AND INDIRECT PATHWAY DRIVES ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

# publications[].label
Optogenetic control of alcohol-seeking behavior via the dorsomedial striatal circuit.

# publications[].label
The use of chemogenetic approaches in alcohol use disorder research and treatment.

# publications[].label
Ethanol-mediated long-lasting adaptations of the NR2B-containing NMDA receptors in the dorsomedial striatum.

# publications[].label
Alcohol induces input-specific aberrant synaptic plasticity in the rat dorsomedial striatum.

# publications[].label
Linking input- and cell-type-specific synaptic plasticity to the reinforcement of alcohol-seeking behavior.

# publications[].label
Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is an endogenous protector in the mesolimbic system against excessive alcohol consumption and relapse.

# publications[].label
Ethanol alters trafficking and functional N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor NR2 subunit ratio via H-Ras.

# publications[].label
Alcohol intake enhances glutamatergic transmission from D2 receptor-expressing afferents onto D1 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons in the dorsomedial striatum.

# publications[].label
Chronic alcohol drinking persistently suppresses thalamostriatal excitation of cholinergic neurons to impair cognitive flexibility.

# publications[].publisher
American Society for Clinical Investigation

# publications[].label
Alcoholism research: A virus could manipulate neurons to reduce the desire to drink

# publications[].label
Striatal -Opioid Receptor Activation Triggers Direct-Pathway GABAergic Plasticity to Induce Negative Affect

# publications[].label
Drug reinforcement impairs cognitive flexibility by inhibiting striatal cholinergic neurons.

# publications[].label
[An observation on the possible existance of some information transmission between sensory nerve endings of rat]

# publications[].label
Activity-dependent labeling and manipulation of fentanyl-recruited striatal ensembles using ArcTRAP approach.

# publications[].label
Whole-Brain Mapping of Direct Inputs to Dopamine D1 and D2 Receptor-Expressing Medium Spiny Neurons in the Posterior Dorsomedial Striatum.

# publications[].label
Alcohol Elicits Functional and Structural Plasticity Selectively in Dopamine D1 Receptor-Expressing Neurons of the Dorsomedial Striatum.

# publications[].label
GDNF acutely potentiates Ca2+ channels and excitatory synaptic transmission in midbrain dopaminergic neurons.

# publications[].label
Striatal -opioid receptor activation triggers direct-pathway GABAergic plasticity and induces negative affect.

# publications[].label
Nucleus accumbens-derived glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor is a retrograde enhancer of dopaminergic tone in the mesocorticolimbic system.

# publications[].label
Photolysis of postsynaptic caged Ca2+ can potentiate and depress mossy fiber synaptic responses in rat hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons.

# publications[].label
Long-lasting adaptations of the NR2B-containing NMDA receptors in the dorsomedial striatum play a crucial role in alcohol consumption and relapse.

# publications[].label
Bidirectional and long-lasting control of alcohol-seeking behavior by corticostriatal LTP and LTD.

# publications[].label
Ethanol-mediated facilitation of AMPA receptor function in the dorsomedial striatum: implications for alcohol drinking behavior.

# publications[].label
Drug Reinforcement Impairs Cognitive Flexibility by Inhibiting Striatal Cholinergic Neurons

# publications[].label
Dynamic Responses of Striatal Cholinergic Interneurons Control the Extinction and Updating of Goal-Directed Learning

# publications[].label
Splice variants of the NR1 subunit differentially induce NMDA receptor-dependent gene expression.

# researcherOn[].label
SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY AND ALCOHOL USE DISORDER

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institute on Drug Abuse - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
PRENATAL MICRORNA NEURO-THERAPEUTICS FOR FETAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institute On Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
Ethanol drinking and the basal ganglia circuitry

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institute On Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
ETHANOL AND GLUTAMATERGIC TRANSMISSION IN THE DORSAL STRIATUM

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institute On Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# streetAddress
Texas A&M Health Science Center; Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics; 8447 Riverside Pkwy

# etdChairOf[].label
Cheng, Yifeng (2018-11). The Role of Dopamine D1 and D2 Receptor-Expressing Striatal Neurons in the Corticostriatal Circuitry of Alcohol Use Disorder. Doctoral Dissertation.