Nucleus accumbens

Recent articles

Two prairie voles.

Oxytocin prompts prairie voles to oust outsiders, fortifying their friendships

The “love hormone” drives the neurobiology behind platonic bonds in animals usually studied for their romantic attachments.

By Holly Barker
8 August 2025 | 7 min read
Research image of serotonin and dopamine neurons manipulated simultaneously in mice.

Dopamine ‘gas pedal’ and serotonin ‘brake’ team up to accelerate learning

Mice learn fastest and most reliably when they experience an increase in dopamine paired with an inhibition of serotonin in their nucleus accumbens, a new study shows, helping to resolve long-standing questions about the neuromodulators’ relationship.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 February 2025 | 5 min read
Two prairie voles touch snouts in a tank.

Brain gene expression syncs between bonded prairie voles

The overlapping activity in the animals’ nucleus accumbens may underpin pair bonding, a new preprint suggests.

By Shaena Montanari
10 January 2025 | 5 min read
A diagram of green neurnons

Cocaine, morphine commandeer neurons normally activated by food, water in mice

Confirming a long-held hypothesis, repeated exposure to the drugs alters neurons in the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s reward center, and curbs an animal’s urge for sustenance.

By Lauren Schenkman
8 May 2024 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research diagram of gene expression.

Prefrontal cortex has three transcriptomic acts across human lifespan, new atlas suggests

Various genes show distinct exits and entrances with age in the open-source dataset, the largest of its kind to date.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
23 September 2026 | 5 min read

Microglia scoop out garbage from inside neurons

Through a newly identified process called skoupocytosis, neurons recruit the immune cells to remove cellular waste they find hard to deal with themselves.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
23 September 2026 | 0 min watch

How neuromorphic computing could improve AI

Mihai Petrovici explains what neuromorphic computing is and how it can speed up and reduce energy consumption in artificial intelligence and brain simulations.

By Gaute Einevoll
23 September 2026 | 102 min listen