Looking forward to my first ACNP meeting! I'll be sharing my work on dopamine-serotonin opponency in reward learning and addiction Thanks to the selection committee for the opportunity!

ACNP@acnporg.bsky.social · last mo.

Please join us in Congratulating the 2026 ACNP Travel Award Class! 👏🤩 Click Here ➡️ tinyurl.com/5bzaz8va for more information on Travel Awards. 📝

Delighted to receive the Henry Grass Rising Star in Neuroscience Award! 🎉 A huge thank you to the Grass Foundation for their recognition and support

The Grass Foundation@grassfoundation.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Congratulations to the 2026 Henry Grass Rising Stars in Neuroscience Awardees: Daniel Cardozo Pinto, Maribel Patiño, and Whitney Stevens-Sostre! @dcardozopinto.bsky.social @maribel-patino.bsky.social @stevenssostre.bsky.social Learn more: grassfoundation.org/2026-henry-g...

Local control of dopamine release in nucleus accumbens gates opioid withdrawal aversion https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.25.727738v1

Finally accepted 😅 @currentbiology.bsky.social

bioRxiv Neuroscience@biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · last yr.

Ten3-Lphn2-mediated target selection across the extended hippocampal network demonstrates a repeated strategy for circuit assembly https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.13.670207v1

Tap here to learn more about our recent study uncovering neural mechanisms of dopamine-serotonin opponency 🧠

Harvard_MCB@harvardmcb.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Study Reveals Neural Circuit Behind the Brain’s Dopamine–Serotonin “Gas–Brake” System for Reward 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @dcardozopinto.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @harvard.edu

Study Reveals Neural Circuit Behind the Brain’s Dopamine–Serotonin “Gas–Brake” System for Reward 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @dcardozopinto.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @harvard.edu

Study Reveals Neural Circuit Behind the Brain’s Dopamine–Serotonin “Gas–Brake” System for Reward - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

A new study by Daniel Cardozo Pinto, now a Harvard Junior Fellow in MCB, has uncovered a neural circuit mechanism explaining how two key brain chemicals—dopamine and serotonin—work […]

mcb.harvard.edu

Our new study in Nature Communications uncovers a neural circuit mechanism by which serotonin counteracts dopamine's rewarding effects: the two neuromodulators exert push-pull control over the activity of D2-MSNs, a key cell-type in the brain's striatum reward hub 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thrilled to share my PhD work showing dopamine and serotonin form a gas-brake system for reward has won Stanford's Sammy Kuo Paper of the Year Award! I'm at #sfn25 presenting new work that uncovers a key circuit mechanism underlying this opponency. Stop by poster AA3 Monday morning to learn more!

🚨Our preprint is online!🚨 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... How do #dopamine neurons perform the key calculations in reinforcement #learning? Read on to find out more! 🧵

If anyone here is using Doric's new FluoPulse system for fluorescence lifetime photometry, can you please get in touch? Would love to hear about your experience with the product. Thanks!

Daniel Cardozo Pinto: Decoding the Neural Circuitry of Reward Learning 🧠🧪 #AcademicSky #higherEd www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @dcardozopinto.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social

Daniel Cardozo Pinto: Decoding the Neural Circuitry of Reward Learning - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Daniel Cardozo Pinto, soon to be appointed a Harvard Junior Fellow, represents a compelling new voice in systems neuroscience. His research, grounded in a profound curiosity about the […]

mcb.harvard.edu

www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @dcardozopinto.bsky.social (postdoc, @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social) and Wendy Valencia Montoya (graduate student, labs of Nick Bellono and Naomi Pierce) named as Harvard Junior Fellows.

MCB’s Daniel Cardozo Pinto and Wendy Valencia Montoya Named 2025 Harvard Junior Fellows - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Harvard has named Daniel Cardozo Pinto and Wendy Valencia Montoya as two of its newest Junior Fellows, joining the prestigious Society of Fellows this year. They will begin […]

mcb.harvard.edu

Opponent regulation of striatal output pathways by dopamine and serotonin https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.17.649431v1

New preprint! 🧠 "Opponent regulation of striatal output pathways by dopamine and serotonin" Here, we mapped serotonin receptor expression in the striatum and showed serotonin modulates MSNs in a manner ~opposite to their canonical regulation by dopamine. Co-led with Michaela Guo. 1/n 🧵 ⬇️

bioRxiv Neuroscience@biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · last yr.

Opponent regulation of striatal output pathways by dopamine and serotonin https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.17.649431v1

Thrilled to share that I've been elected to the Harvard Society of Fellows! I will collaborate with Nao Uchida on a new direction investigating neural mechanisms of addiction. It's such a privilege to pursue curiosity driven science in this environment - very excited and so, so grateful.

Harvard_MCB@harvardmcb.bsky.social · last yr.

MCB’s Daniel Cardozo Pinto and Wendy Valencia Montoya Named 2025 Harvard Junior Fellows www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @dcardozopinto.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social

The latest work from the Lammel lab is out today! Discover how changes in neurotensin signaling from the NAc Lat to the VTA lead to food devaluation in a mouse model of obesity 🧀🐭 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Changes in neurotensin signalling drive hedonic devaluation in obesity - Nature

In mice, prolonged consumption of a high-fat diet decreases interest in calorie-rich foods as a result of reduced neurotensin expression and signalling, which uncouples hedonic feeding behaviour linke...

nature.com

Thanks to @avaskham.bsky.social at @thetransmitter.bsky.social for this coverage of our recent work!

The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 2y ago

Mice learn best when the opponent opposing forces of dopamine and serotonin work together, a new study shows, helping to resolve long-standing questions about the neuromodulators’ relationship. By @avaskham.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/learning/dop...

Grateful for this spotlight from @PsyPost News, check out their coverage of our recent @Nature paper below! 🧠

PsyPost@psypost.bsky.social · 2y ago

Stanford researchers found that dopamine and serotonin work in opposition, like an accelerator and brake, to balance reward learning and decision-making, requiring both systems to function together for effective learning and behavioral… #Neuroscience #Dopamine #Serotonin #BrainResearch #Psychology

The study demonstrates for the first time exactly how dopamine and serotonin work together -- or more precisely, in opposition -- to shape our learning behavior. #Nature Read more www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thanks to Nick Weiler @ Stanford Wu Tsai Institute for the very nice write up of our work! neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/dopamin...

Dopamine and serotonin work in opposition to shape learning

New research from the Malenka lab reveals that reward-based learning requires the two neuromodulators to

neuroscience.stanford.edu

Daniel Cardozo Pinto@dcardozopinto.bsky.social · 2y ago

My paper is out!! 🎉 "Opponent control of reinforcement by striatal dopamine and serotonin", @Nature Here, we show that dopamine and serotonin signals form a gas-brake system for reward in the mammalian brain THREAD ⬇️ 1/n

My paper is out!! 🎉 "Opponent control of reinforcement by striatal dopamine and serotonin", @Nature Here, we show that dopamine and serotonin signals form a gas-brake system for reward in the mammalian brain THREAD ⬇️ 1/n

Hi all! I'm a neuroscientist studying dopamine and serotonin circuits 🧠 Currently a postdoc in Rob Malenka and Neir Eshel's labs at Stanford, soon to share some exciting news about my work and next moves #neuroscience #dopamine #serotonin #reward #learning