Happy to report that I am once again the Tufts Dept of Neuroscience Mario Kart champion. The trophy I get to keep on my desk:
Kenneth Amaya, PhD
@kenam15.bsky.social
Diné & Chicano. Postdoctoral Fellow in the Maguire Lab at Tufts University. NIH-NIMH DSPAN K00. Arizona sports sufferer.
Seeing Thorlabs boxes in the background of scenes during You Can See Everything
Leonardo DiCaprio Points: 'Yes, That's It!'
ALT: Leonardo DiCaprio Points: 'Yes, That's It!'
static.klipy.com
Very excited to share our new preprint. We identify the basolateral amygdala dopamine system as an important interface between dynamic shifts in the environment and decisions to engage in vigorous drug use. Really challenging studies led brilliantly by Dr. Megan Brickner.
The basolateral amygdala dopamine system shapes dynamic drug seeking states
Drug-associated sensory cues and contexts exert powerful influence over drug seeking motivation, but in vivo brain mechanisms governing this process remain unclear. Here, we recorded and manipulated d...
biorxiv.org
🚨 new work from the lab! "Dissociable cortical-hippocampal dopamine dynamics support memory-guided behavior" by @albitc.bsky.social et al. congratulations whole-heartedly to the team and we're excited to hear everyone's thoughts on the work! 👇🏽 www.cell.com/current-biol...
🚨 new work from the lab! "Hippocampal astrocytic sequences emerge during learning and memory recall" by @ryguy.io & @rsuthard.bsky.social thank you to the entire team for your camaraderie and for muscling through science together 🧠 -- we welcome all feedback! nature.com/articles/s41...
Hippocampal astrocytic sequences emerge during learning and memory recall
Nature Neuroscience - Senne, Suthard and colleagues show that dorsal hippocampal astrocytes display time-compressed calcium-event sequences after foot shock and upon context re-exposure, and that...
nature.com
new paper out, led by @jobeneuro.bsky.social , exploring 5HT dynamics in cingulate and central amygdala, and how a history of alcohol consumption changes them! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Selective dysregulation of serotonin dynamics in the anterior cingulate cortex and central amygdala following binge alcohol consumption - Neuropsychopharmacology
Neuropsychopharmacology - Selective dysregulation of serotonin dynamics in the anterior cingulate cortex and central amygdala following binge alcohol consumption
nature.com
Pavlovian conditioned approach with different reward magnitudes reveals opposing effects of acute and chronic semaglutide treatment https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.08.750149v1
Updated lab website with the amazing people I get to work with and some exciting projects underway izquierdolab.com
Izquierdo Lab — Alicia Izquierdo, UCLA Department of Psychology
The Izquierdo Lab at UCLA studies the brain mechanisms of flexible reward learning and value-based decision making, with a focus on frontocortical circuits.
izquierdolab.com
New email to Director Bhattacharya to start Labor Day weekend regarding the secret transfer of appropriated funds to the Department of Defense.
Philip J Fry's Shocked Reaction
ALT: Philip J Fry's Shocked Reaction
static.klipy.com
Jeremy Berg@jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2mo agoLess immediately, I am hearing that NIH is overwhelmed with applications (not surprisingly) and they are sufficiently short-staffed in CSR that they will continue with the only discussing 1/3 (rather than 1/2) of the applications. There apparently will be a Notice about this soon. 3/3
Attention all central amygdala aficionados and habit learning lovers: Sharing the latest work from my time at Dartmouth where we examined CeA activity during habit formation, now out at JNeuro www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
Habit learning shapes activity dynamics in the central nucleus of the amygdala
A habit develops as a motivated behavior that is strengthened by extended experience and feedback. While the performance component of a habit is relatively well studied, being linked to action-related...
jneurosci.org
When a student tells you they thought the amygdala only does fear learning and you see an opportunity to spread the Good Word
Donald Duck's Evil Smile
ALT: Donald Duck's Evil Smile
static.klipy.com
Fresh from the Castro Lab! We characterize how mu opioid receptors on pancreatic alpha cells regulate ingestive phenotypes. Surprise! Mu can act both inside and outside the brain😱 Congrats to our technician Diego De Gregorio! @ssibsociety.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Pancreatic mu opioid receptors regulate metabolism and ingestive behaviors
The mu opioid receptor system has long been recognized for its role in regulating ingestive behaviors and food palatability. However, beyond their rob…
sciencedirect.com
Our labs first paper! Some 😳 surprising effects. Turns out everything comes back to context 🤓
bioRxiv Neuroscience@biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · 4mo agoVentral tegmental area acetylcholine generates appetitive and aversive incentive motivation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.09.737546v1
I am happy to share our latest manuscript, led by newly-minted PhD Justin Wang, identifying a neural population that selectively controls hedonic, but not homeostatic, feeding. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Ventral pallidal GABAergic neurons control hedonic feeding and obesity
Food intake is governed by two interacting drives. The homeostatic hunger drive regulates food intake to fulfill caloric needs while the hedonic drive promotes intake of palatable foods outside of cal...
biorxiv.org
Running a lab is like running a small business. When you run out of money, you close. Right now we are favoring incumbents and squeezing out the most vulnerable. Life saving research is abruptly shutting down and early career scientists are paying the price!
Trauma Code on WBAI@traumacode.bsky.social · 4mo agoThanks again to @michaeldgreen.phd for telling us how politicization of NIH funding has derailed early career researchers. Catch us every Monday 2pm on the #TraumaCode on WBAI 99.5 FM NYC podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Had a fantastic visit to UVM for the Vermont Summer Summit! Unfortunately only took this picture of the world’s tallest filing cabinet while in Burlington
First Castro Lab paper, brought to you by the hard work of Dr. Kathryn Braden @katybraden.bsky.social In this manuscript we investigate the role of endogenous enkephalin or dorsal raphe nucleus. We find that it is incredibly important for buffering negative affect 😱 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dorsal raphe nucleus enkephalin peptide modulates behavioral preference - Neuropsychopharmacology
Neuropsychopharmacology - Dorsal raphe nucleus enkephalin peptide modulates behavioral preference
nature.com
NIH spending on these 5 programs (F31, F32, F99, K99, DP5) grew $3M between FY2024 and FY2025. But new-award dollars fell $16M, and 337 fewer scholars received new awards (~-20%). I’ve seen claims about forward funding helping young scientist, how does it help us if we can’t get an award?
The NIH has canceled 48 early career training funding opportunities in the last year. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/scientific...
Heads up to postdocs writing K99s out there, reviewers will want you to have already collected data with the tool you’re proposing to learn
K99 that initially scored 29 went Not Discussed on resubmission
Really thrilled to share my lab's latest work where we characterize the role of the CeA in integrating exogenous GLP-1 signals. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Our NIAAA funded Post-DoctT32 has received its NoA (non competing renewal). Are you looking for a post-doc and interested in joining our amazing center? If so, reach out! Here is a convenient form that you can use to upload CV and a cover letter! unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...