The ventral tegmental (VTA) is a complex and heterogeneous structure. Dopaminergic (DA) neurons are a major population of VTA neurons and play a crucial role in reward processes, motivated behavior and drug addiction. Opiate addiction is a growing public health problem, and understanding the mechanisms of opiate actions in brain is crucial in order to treat dependent patients. For those reasons, we focused this study on the acute and chronic effects of morphine on the activity of VTA DA neurons.

Don Wyma, assistant director of planning and portfolio support at Abbott/AbbVie, describes how he uses skills developed in the research lab in his career. Go "Beyond the Lab" with former PhD students and postdocs from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Through the ASPIRE Program, which is funded by a BEST grant from the NIH, the Biomedical Research Education and Training office at Vanderbilt has produced a video series highlighting the varied jobs that PhDs in the biomedical sciences pursue after their training is complete. The series interviews Vanderbilt alumni about their career and their advice for others who want to pursue similar professional paths.

Talking about the importance of animal research with the public is something that every neuroscientist can and should do.

Ghrelin’s been a star among many researchers since its discovery in 1999. Its rise to fame is largely attributed to its role in feeding behavior, an area eagerly being examined as a result of our current obesity problems. Ghrelin, a peptide produced primarily by the stomach, increases food intake and preference for fatty foods, and protects fat stores.

Receiving sound career advice and mentorship is all about bridging connections, communicating well, and knowing what you want. Watch experts share how to approach people for career guidance and form successful formal or informal mentoring relationships.

In an interview in Nature, Roberto Kolter, professor of microbiology at Harvard Medical School, shared why he accepts certain postdocs and how he prepares them for career success. In this Q&A, Kolter further explains how he manages his lab, including the focus and variety of research, mentoring, and preparing postdocs for different career paths. Although Professor Kolter is a microbiologist, his perspective applies broadly, including neuroscience.

As a postdoc at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), I am considered a trainee and not a federal employee. Trainees are limited in the types of advocacy activities we can do. For example, we cannot sponsor events. We also cannot advocate for specific funding levels to our elected members of Congress with our government affiliation, though we can do this as “off-duty” citizens. So, when I was selected as an SfN Early Career Policy Fellow (ECPF) in 2014, my primary goal was to reactivate a 15-plus year dormant local SfN Chapter in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, so that I could use the chapter as my affiliation to procure funds for advocacy.

eNeuro's editor-in-chief Christophe Bernard answered questions on what you should know about being a reviewer and why it’s important for your career.

Reviewers are valuable members of the journal community. Before you accept the responsibility to review, consider the basics of the process and your role in it.

Reconsolidation is the process by which memories are updated with new information. The retrieval of an existing memory, if combined with the inclusion of new information, necessitates this reconsolidation process in order to update it.