Neurobiology of Behavior
The goals of this platform are to unravel the roles of genes and neurotransmitters in neural circuits involved in motivation and reward and in disorders of these behaviors.
This platform focuses on neural circuits involved in behavioral domains and endophenotypes underlying addiction and eating disorders. Limbic circuits exerting motivation- and reward-related behaviors and their monoaminergic transmitters are a common focus as well as the role of genes in the disorders associated with addiction and feeding.
Research centers around the theme which and how neural circuits control motivation and reward and how these evolve into states of addiction and aberrant eating. Therapeutic strategies based on pharmacological manipulation of these complex behaviors may be based on the insights arising from this research. Mouse behavioral genetics dissect complex behaviors in endophenotypes, and are the basis of forward genetic strategies towards genes underlying behavioral domains of eating disorders and psychiatric traits.
Headlines of research are:
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peptidergic and monoaminergic transmitters in the regulation of food intake and energy balance.
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dopaminergic activity and the ventral tegmental area in motivation- and reward-related behaviors.
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corticostriatal circuits in motivation and reward
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dissection and genetic underpinning of complex behaviors
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genes in eating disorders
Principle investigators: Adan, Kas, Ramakers, Vanderschuren
