Sam Bacharach

University of Maryland, Baltimore | UMB · Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

Rationale Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are critical gatekeepers of dopaminergic signaling, and disrupting cannabinoid receptor-1 (CB1) signaling alters DA dynamics to attenuate cue-motivated behaviors. Prior studies suggest that dopamine (DA) release plays a critical role in driving sign-tracking. Objectives Here, we determine whether systemic injectio...

Sign-tracking rats show enhanced cue sensitivity before drug experience that predicts greater discrete cue-induced drug-seeking compared to goal-tracking or intermediate- rats. Cue-evoked dopamine in the nucleus Accumbens (NAc) is a neurobiological signature of sign-tracking behaviors. Here, we examine a critical regulator of the dopamine system; e...

Sign-tracking rats show enhanced cue sensitivity before drug experience that predicts greater discrete cue-induced drug-seeking compared to goal-tracking or intermediate-rats. Cue-evoked dopamine in the nucleus Accumbens (NAc) is a neurobiological signature of sign-tracking behaviors. Here, we examine a critical regulator of the dopamine system; en...

Individual differences in Pavlovian approach predict differences in devaluation sensitivity. Recent studies indicate goal-tracking (GT) rats are sensitive to outcome devaluation while sign-tracking (ST) rats are not. With extended training in Pavlovian lever autoshaping (PLA), GT rats display more lever-directed behavior, typical of ST rats, sugges...

Outbred rats display variable preferences for bittersweet solutions, expressed as preference or avoidance of high concentrations of artificial sweeteners over water. This may reflect individual differences in appetitive/aversive conflict processing that may have predictive validity for disorders of motivation. Here we use a homecage two-bottle choi...

Previously established individual differences in appetitive approach and devaluation sensitivity observed in goal- and sign-trackers may be attributed to differences in the acquisition, modification, or use of associative information in BLA pathways. Here, we sought to determine the extent to which communication of associative information between B...

Yohimbine is an alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonist that has been used in numerous studies as a pharmacological stressor in rodents, monkeys and humans. Recently, yohimbine has become the most common stress manipulation in studies on reinstatement of drug and food seeking. However, the wide range of conditions under which yohimbine promotes reward seek...

Background Relapse to unhealthy eating habits is a major problem in human dietary treatment. The individuals most commonly seeking dietary treatment are overweight or obese women, yet the commonly used rat reinstatement model to study relapse to palatable food seeking during dieting primarily uses normal-weight male rats. To increase the clinical r...