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Time: 14:00-15:30 on Tues.,Oct. 12, 2021

Venue: E109, Biomedicine Hall

Speaker: Dr. Yingjie Zhu

Host: Dr. Wei Zhang

Title: : The paraventricular thalamus: a key node of drug addiction circuitry

Abstract: 

Drug addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive, out-of-control drug use and the appearance of negative somatic and emotional consequences when access to the drug is prevented. Limited efficacy of treatment urges us towards deeper understanding on the neural mechanism of drug addiction. Brain circuits regulating reward and motivation have been considered as the neural substrate of drug addiction. Increasing body of literatures indicate that the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) serves as a key node in the neurocircuits controlling goal-directed behaviors. In this report, we summarize the anatomical and functional evidences that the PVT regulates drug-related behaviors. The PVT receives extensive input from the brainstem and hypothalamus, and is reciprocally connected with the limbic system. Neurons in the PVT are recruited by drug exposure, as well as cues and context associated with drug taking. Circuit-specific perturbation studies have started to decipher the precise role of PVT circuits in drug-related behaviors. We also highlight recent findings about the plasticity changes in the PVT pathways in drug addiction and provide perspectives on future studies.

Biography：

朱英杰，中国科学院深圳先进技术研究院脑认知与脑疾病研究所研究员，深圳内尔神经可塑性实验室执行主任，深圳市药物成瘾重点实验室主任。国家优秀青年基金获得者，国家重点人才计划入选者，深圳市国家级领军人才、孔雀计划人才，美国NARSAD青年科学家。2006年于中山大学获得学士学位，2012年于中国科学院上海神经科学研究所获得博士学位，2013-2017年在美国斯坦福大学从事博士后研究，2017至今在中国科学院深圳先进技术研究院任研究员。主要研究方向为药物成瘾的神经环路机制。发现及鉴定了丘脑室旁核(PVT)环路在阿片类药物戒断反应及成瘾记忆中起了关键作用，为药物成瘾患者提供了潜在的全新治疗策略。相关成果以第一或通讯作者身份发表在Nature、Science、Neuron等杂志。