About This Project

Life frequently tempts us with alluring options that turn out to be bad decisions. If risky decision-making becomes the norm, it can rapidly lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and sometimes even addiction. We are beginning to understand what happens in the brain when we make risky decisions. But what changes in the brain when we refrain? By understanding how the brain prevents risky-decision making, and possibly addiction, we can prevent those decisions from happening in the first place.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Our focus is on the interplay between subcortical and cortical regions of the brain. Subcortical regions are responsible for generating many of our primitive urges, while cortical regions act to modulate and restrict these urges to appropriate times. Using an animal model, we can assess these regions’ involvement when the animal is faced with good and bad options. Their choices can be swayed experimentally by activating relevant brain areas with two techniques: laser light stimulation (optogenetics) and genetically modified designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs). We have previously shown that subcortical stimulation can establish addiction-like behavior in rats. Thus, our work hopes to assess whether cortical stimulation can reverse or suppress this behavior.

What is the significance of this project?

Addiction is a prevalent problem in today’s society. It ranges from drug abuse to pathological gambling to diet-induced obesity. Millions of dollars are spent every year on the so-called “war on drugs,” and drug addiction and regulation has recently been a hot topic of debate for U.S. presidential candidates. In general, while rehabilitation and therapy can prove effective in some cases, the more we learn about the neurological basis of addiction, the better we can treat and prevent it.

What are the goals of the project?

Our goal is to assess how certain subcortical and cortical brain areas function in addiction. Using rats, we will use laser light and designer receptors to activate specific brain cells with precise timing. This allows us to generate compulsive risky decision-making by activating subcortical urges and examine how they can be tempered through cortical inhibition. Moreover, if we can use lasers to increase cortical control over these subcortical urges, it’s possible that we can override the system so that good choices outweigh the bad.

Please note: All protocol procedures were approved by the Wesleyan University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).