About this Research Topic

Background

A cardinal feature of mood and substance use disorders is impaired motivation and reward processing. While response to acute stressors can be adaptive, pathological effects of chronic or traumatic stress can render individuals vulnerable to depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, PTSD and other mood disorders. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) integrates cortical, thalamic and limbic inputs to influence motivated behavior and reward learning. While there is significant data indicating that stressor exposure alters NAc function and associated behavioral control, the molecular, cellular and network mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear and existing studies are disjointed. Likewise, the role of stress-associated neuromodulators that are present in the NAc and how these neuromodulators converge in the control of NAc output and NAc-dependent behaviors is poorly understood.

Understanding how stress impacts NAc function is key to uncovering the etiology of mood and substance use disorders. Stress can impact the molecular machinery that power cellular function, signaling of stress-associated neuromodulators, cellular excitability and microcircuit connectivity within the NAc. Stress can also impact NAc output by modulating afferent strength and integration across brain circuits. This Research Topic examines the impact of stress on NAc function spanning multiple levels of analysis that employ a wide breadth of cutting-edge techniques. Moreover, this Research Topic will focus on the utility of pre-clinical work and its ability to inform translational and clinical research. To this end, this Research Topic will also highlight how prior stress, developmental history and sex impact the subsequent effects of stress and stress-related neuromodulators in regulating NAc function. The goal is to bring together a broad yet sometimes poorly integrated body of work to highlight potential molecular, cellular and circuit level substrates that could be targeted for novel therapeutic development in the treatment of mood and substance use disorders.

Potential topics could include:
• Impact of stress on NAc network function and output
• Impact of stress on cell excitability and synaptic plasticity and afferent/efferent connectivity
• Neuromodulation in the NAc and stress-associated neuropeptides
• Importance of stressor type, chronicity and severity in differential modulation of NAc function
• Sex-differences in effects of stress and stress-associated peptides on NAc function
• The impact of stress on structural/neuroanatomical features of the NAc
• Effects of stress on transcriptional regulation in NAc

Keywords: Stress, NAc, Nucleus Accumbens, Motivated Behavior, Neuromodulation

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