Research Preprints
Ottenheimer DJ, Vitale KR, Ambroggi F, Janak PJ, & Saunders BT. (2024). Basolateral amygdala population coding of a cued reward-seeking state depends on orbitofrontal cortex. bioRxiv, 2023.12.31.573789: doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.31.573789
Fraser KM, Collins V, Wolff A, Ottenheimer DJ, Bornhoft KN, Pat F, Chen BJ, Janak PJ, & Saunders BT. (2023). Contexts facilitate dynamic value encoding in the mesolimbic dopamine system. bioRxiv, 2023.11.05.565687: doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.05.565687
Wolff AR & Saunders BT. (2023). Sensory cues potentiate VTA dopamine mediated reinforcement. bioRxiv, 2023.10.18.562986: doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.18.562986
Engel L, Wolff AR, Blake M, Collins VL, Sinha S, & Saunders BT. (2023). VTA dopamine neurons engage spatiotemporally heterogenous striatal dopamine signals during learning. bioRxiv, 2023.07.01.547331: doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.01.547331
Collins V, Bornhoft KN, Wolff A, Sinha S, & Saunders BT. (2022). Hierarchical cue control of drug seeking in the face of cost. bioRxiv, 2022.05.05.490799: doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.05.490799
Saunders BT, Richard JM, Margolis EB, & Janak PH. (2017). Instantiation of incentive value and movement invigoration by distinct midbrain dopamine circuits. bioRxiv, 186502: doi.org/10.1101/186502.
Peer-Reviewed Research Papers
Wolff AR & Saunders BT. (2024). Sensory cues potentiate VTA dopamine mediated reinforcement. eNeuro, 11(2):ENEURO.0421-23.2024.
Collins V, Bornhoft KN, Wolff A, Sinha S, & Saunders BT. (2023). Hierarchical cue control of cocaine seeking in the face of cost. Psychopharmacology, 240, 461-476.
Saunders BT, Richard JM, Margolis EB, & Janak PH. (2018). Dopamine neurons create Pavlovian conditioning stimuli with circuit-defined motivational properties. Nature Neuroscience, 21, 1072-1083. Lay Summary
Steinberg EE, Boivin JR, Saunders BT, Witten IB, Deisseroth K, & Janak PH. (2014). Positive reinforcement mediated by midbrain dopamine neurons requires D1 and D2 receptor activation in the nucleus accumbens. PLOS One. 9(4): e94771.
Saunders BT, O’Donnell EG, Aurbach EL, & Robinson TE. (2014). A cocaine context renews drug seeking preferentially in a subset of individuals. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39, 2816-2823.
Morrow JD, Saunders BT, Maren S, & Robinson TE. (2014). Sign-tracking to an appetitive cue predicts incubation of conditioned fear in rats. Behavioural Brain Research, 276, 59-66.
Fitzpatrick CJ, Gopalakrishnan S, Cogan ES, Yager LM, Meyer PJ, Lovic V, Saunders BT, Parker CC, Gonzales NM, Aryee E, Flagel SB, Palmer AA, Robinson TE, & Morrow JD. (2013). Variation in the form of Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior among outbred male Sprague Dawley rats from different vendors and colonies: Sign-tracking vs. goal-tracking. PLOS One. 8(10): e75042.
Saunders BT, Yager LM, & Robinson TE. (2013). Cue-evoked cocaine “craving”: role of dopamine in the accumbens core. Journal of Neuroscience, 33, 13989-14000.
Badrinarayan A, Wescott SA, Vander Weele CM, Saunders BT, Couturier BE, Maren S, & Aragona BJ. (2012). Aversive stimuli differentially modulate real-time dopamine transmission dynamics within the nucleus accumbens core and shell. Journal of Neuroscience, 32, 15779-15790.
Saunders BT & Robinson TE. (2012). The role of dopamine in the accumbens core in the performance of Pavlovian-conditioned responses. European Journal of Neuroscience, 36, 2521-2532.
Meyer PJ, Lovic V, Saunders BT, Yager LM, Flagel SB, Morrow JD, & Robinson TE. (2012). Quantifying individual variation in the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues. PLOS One, 7(6): e38987.
Lovic V, Saunders BT, Yager LM, & Robinson TE. (2011). Rats prone to attribute incentive salience to reward cues are also prone to impulsive action. Behavioural Brain Research, 223, 255-261.
Saunders BT & Robinson TE. (2011). Individual variation in the motivational properties of cocaine. Neuropsychopharmacology, 36, 1668-1676.
Saunders BT & Robinson TE. (2010). A cocaine cue acts as an incentive stimulus in some but not others: Implications for addiction. Biological Psychiatry, 67, 730-736.
Diller JW, Saunders BT, & Anderson KG. (2008). Effects of acute and repeated administration of caffeine on temporal discounting in rats. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, & Behavior, 89, 546-555
Reviews and Commentaries
Poisson CL, Engel L, & Saunders BT. (2021). Dopamine circuit mechanisms of addiction-like behaviors. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 15, 752420.
Collins AL & Saunders BT. (2020). Heterogeneity in striatal dopamine circuits: Form and function in dynamic reward seeking. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 98, 1046-1069.
Collins AL & Saunders BT. (2019). Brain reward network effects underlie septo-hippocampal control of flexible decision making. Neuropsychopharmacology, doi: 10.1038/s41386-019-0487-4.
Collins AL, Wolff AR, & Saunders BT. (2019). Ring of power: a band of peptidergic midbrain neurons that binds motivation. Neuron, 103, P364-366.
Saunders BT, Richard JM, & Janak PH. (2015). Contemporary approaches to neural circuit manipulation and mapping: focus on reward and addiction. Proc Roy Soc Phil Trans B. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0210.
Saunders BT & Janak PH. (2014). Nucleus accumbens plasticity underlies multifaceted behavioral changes associated with addiction. Biological Psychiatry, 75, 92-93. Commentary on Saddoris and Carelli, 2014.
Robinson TE, Yager LM, Cogan ES, & Saunders BT. (2014). On the incentive motivational properties of food and drug cues. Neuropharmacology, 76, 450-499.
Saunders BT & Robinson TE. (2013). Individual variation in resisting temptation: Implications for addiction. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 37, 1955-1975
Saunders BT, Yager LM, & Robinson TE. (2013). Preclinical studies shed light on individual variation in addiction vulnerability. Neuropsychopharmacology, 38, 249-250. Hot Topics commentary.
Saunders BT & Richard JM. (2011). Shedding light on the role of ventral tegmental area dopamine in reward. Journal of Neuroscience, 31, 18195-18197. Journal Club review of Adamantidis et al. 2011.