Stephen V Mahler

A simple voluntary action reduces high-fat diet intake and obesity in mice

This is a very elegant multi-continental study 👏

www.cell.com/current-biol...

I am so proud to share @forrestdrogers.bsky.social’s postdoctoral magnum opus, now out in @nature.com! Forrest discovered a novel role for Agouti in the MPOA of the hypothalamus to integrate socio-environmental information to flexibly tune paternal behavior
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thread! 👇🏻

New Special Issue out in #AddictionNeuroscience edited by @talialerner.bsky.social on dopamine circuitry and heterogeneity in addiction with articles by @daylab.bsky.social, Tom Hnasko, @mtorregrossa1.bsky.social, and Awatramani Rajeshwar check it out! www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

EBPS2023 special issue: Stress, trauma and cannabinoids - Psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology -

Excited to share the Psychopharm Special Issue on Stress, Trauma & Cannabinoids 14 papers examining how the endocannabinoid system shapes stress & trauma responses.

Guest edited with @connorhaggarty.bsky.social, @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social & Christelle Baunez.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

ugh. ugh. ugh.

👉👃

Neuroscience has a species problem

The problem is not simply that cross-species translation is difficult; it is that the field has largely accepted this difficulty rather than treating it as a central scientific challenge

www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...

Psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology is an international journal discussing the mechanisms by which drugs influence behavior. Publishes research and reviews on the impact of ...

The special issue in Psychopharmacology from EBPS2023 is now out as a complete collection. You can find the papers all here link.springer.com/journal/213/...

If you had the choice of studying cocaine addiction in rats alone in a cage with only cocaine or at least one other substance, what would you do?

In this new interesting study, Nowak and her co-authors chose the second option.

link.springer.com/content/pdf/...

#eNeuro Open Source Tools and Methods | A Common Iba1 Antibody Labels Vasopressin Neurons in Mice
https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0323-25.2025

Very happy to share a new paper in
@npp-journal.bsky.social I thought I knew what would predict escalation of cocaine use. Well, I was wrong. After tracking behavior daily for weeks, the answer turned out to be the opposite of my prediction, and it changed how I see addiction.

Breaking initial resistance to incentive salience with sufficient drug exposure

Individuals initially resistant to incentive salience can, with sufficient exposure, become sensitized and escalate cocaine use to the same level as more susceptible individuals

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thoughts of an Ex-Editor - Psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology -

apropos of absolutely nothing, a lot of scientists could profit from reading this editorial from legendary Conan Kornetsky upon retiring from an editor position.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

EBPS2023 special issue: Stress, trauma and cannabinoids - Psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology -

What an undertaking this was. So proud of the collection @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social , @brainsbeesbikes.bsky.social , @cbaunez.bsky.social and I collected for the “Stress, Trauma and Cannabinoids” special issue in @psychopharmacology.bsky.social
Editorial: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Tallie Z Baram speaks at UC Irvine

Thrilled to experience @talliezee.bsky.social’s @ucibiosci.bsky.social Dean’s Distinguished Lecture today @ucirvine.bsky.social!
@ucirvinemedschool.bsky.social

On a call with NIH PO this morning - I knew NOSIs were no longer a thing, but wasn't aware they now have these "Highlighted Topics". Not clear how it exactly interfaces with funding and/or how you highlight alignment, but good to keep an eye on!

grants.nih.gov/funding/find...

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article) A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Hey ventral pallidum fans, see our new paper showing that #VP GABA neurons, known for reward, also regulate aversive motivation! Inhibiting these cells with #DREADDs potentiates active or passive defenses to threats, likely via LHb.
Congrats to Erica Ramirez & Marty Martinez!
doi.org/10.1016/j.yn...

Considering the impact of Multi-Year Funding at NIH Somewhere in the back of my head I have been thinking that the worst impact of NIH allocating ~50% of funds via Multi-Year Funding would be FY2026 if, and that is a huge IF, the overall budget stay…

Considering the impact of Multi-Year Funding at NIH drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2026/01/20/c...

Hugs or heroin?
If you have to ask, or if you like #VP, or social reward brain mechanisms, or are looking for an awesome postdoc next year, you should probably come see Erica Ramirez’ poster tonight at #acnp2026!
w246
@acnporg.bsky.social

Big congrats to Steve Mahler’s group at UCI ICAL! 🎉

Their team published 3 major papers in 2025 — including one featured on the cover of the Journal of Neuroimmunology — advancing research on cannabinoids, addiction, and brain–immune interactions. Proud of this amazing work! 🧠✨

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

Pretty cool

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Kappa opioid receptor control of motivated behavior revisited Neuropsychopharmacology - Kappa opioid receptor control of motivated behavior revisited

This recent review revisits decades of research on kappa opioid receptors (KORs), critically assesses long-held assumptions & argues for a re-evaluation of existing frameworks to refine how KOR signaling is conceptualized & leveraged for treatment

The best Christmas present this year was my lab’s first big data paper getting accepted today! A tour-de-force spearheaded by my talented first lab tech, who’s now continuing as a PhD student in my lab-- so proud of our team! 🙌 sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization Nature Neuroscience - Parcellation of the cortex into functionally modular brain areas is foundational to neuroscience. Here, Hayden, Heilbronner and Yoo question the central status of brain areas...

New Perspective from myself, Sarah Heilbronner and @myoo.bsky.social . “Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization” in Nature Neuroscience. 🧵

rdcu.be/eVZ1A

They might be easier to access if they were engraved on stone tablets!

Sex differences in BNST signaling and BNST CRF in fear processing Critical differences in how the BNST responds to different types of fear across male and female mice.

In @elife.bsky.social: Sex differences in BNST signaling and BNST CRF in fear processing doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

Official version finally out. Thank you to reviewers, made it better!

The role of mesolimbic circuitry in aversive signaling and opioid dependence This review examines how chronic opioid use reshapes medial ventral tegmental area circuits, increasing sensitivity to aversive stimuli, amplifying negative affect, and reinforcing withdrawal-avoidanc...

Role of mesolimbic circuitry in aversive signalling, pain relief and opioid use disorder

In this review, the authors explore how opioid use modifies heterogeneous VTA neuron populations, enhancing sensitivity to aversive stimuli and promoting negative affect

1/3

www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...

🙏 @sfnjournals.bsky.social now out! & while celltype &ephys are alike across sexes, behavioral functions and axon terminal distribution in NAc and brainwide diverge by sex and #stress. @ladenardo.bsky.social

I am a little tired of being yelled at for this but apparently not tired about: heroin addiction is not RFK’s problem. He’s a sociopath. Most addicts aren’t. Honestly, walk into an NA meeting, grab the first person with a few years to be head of HHS and they’d probably do a better job than Bobby.