Understanding the brain circuitry that underlies reward is critical to improve treatment for
many common health issues, including obesity, depression, and addiction. Here we focus
on insights into the organization and function of reward circuitry and its synaptic and
structural adaptations in response to cocaine exposure. While the importance of certain
circuits, such as the mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathway, are well established in drug
reward, recent studies using genetics-based tools have revealed functional changes …