# Defining the differential roles of Glutamatergic and GABAergic projections from the Lateral Preoptic Area to the Lateral Habenula in Reward, Aversion, and Drug-Seeking Behavior.

> **NIH NIH R00** · RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIV OF N.J. · 2021 · $249,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Drug addiction is a complex neurological disorder which produces aberrant function in limbic circuits and
limbic-associated structures. One specific portion of the basal forebrain—the lateral preoptic area—serves as an
important relay between limbic structures and the lateral habenula, a region that has been implicated in
addiction and depression. Under the primary mentorship of Drs. Marisela Morales and Geoffrey Schoenbaum,
the present Pathway to Independence award will allow me to obtain training in electron microscopy and in vivo
calcium imaging in order to elucidate the role of the preopto-habenular projection in the processing of
rewarding and aversive stimuli, and eventually the role that this circuitry plays in cocaine addiction. In the
mentored phase of this grant, I will use a combination of viral tracers and immuno-electron microscopy in
order to determine the targets of the lateral preoptic area glutamatergic and GABAergic axons that establish
synapses on lateral habenula neurons and to determine how individual differences in postsynaptic receptors
contribute to individual differences in the processing of rewarding and aversive stimuli. Subsequently, fiber
photometry calcium imaging will be used in order to determine how the terminals of lateral preoptic
glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in the lateral habenula process rewarding or aversive outcomes and
their associated cues. In the independent phase, I will combine these cutting-edge techniques with my prior
training in order to simultaneously record the axon terminals of lateral preoptic neurons in the lateral
habenula using fiber photometry and the responses of the postsynaptic cells in the lateral habenula using
single-unit electrophysiological recordings in order to establish a role for the preopto-habenular pathway in
cocaine self-administration, punishment-imposed abstinence, and cued reinstatement. In summary, the
research proposed in this Pathway to Independence Award will elucidate the ultrastructural architecture and
functional mechanisms of a novel circuit that participates in cocaine self-administration while simultaneously
providing me with the tools to establish an independent research program capable of producing high impact
studies that bridge anatomical data with cutting-edge techniques for examining circuit function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10242872
- **Project number:** 5R00DA043572-04
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIV OF N.J.
- **Principal Investigator:** David J Barker
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $249,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-15 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10242872

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10242872, Defining the differential roles of Glutamatergic and GABAergic projections from the Lateral Preoptic Area to the Lateral Habenula in Reward, Aversion, and Drug-Seeking Behavior. (5R00DA043572-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10242872. Licensed CC0.

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