Featured Publications
For more, visit JF Cheer at Pubmed or Google Scholar.
Luján MA, Covey DP, Morrison RY, Zhang LY, Kim AY, Morgado F, Patel S, Bass CE, Paladini C, Cheer JF. (2023) Mobilization of endocannabinoids by midbrain dopamine neurons is required for the encoding of reward prediction. Nature Communications. 14: 7545.
Luján MA, Oliver BL, Morrison RY, Engi SA, Zhang LY, Wenzel JM, Li Y, Zlebnik NE, Cheer JF. (2023) A multivariate regressor of patterned dopamine release predicts relapse to cocaine. Cell Reports. 42(6): 112553
Wenzel, J.M., Zlebnik, N.E., Patton, M.H., Smethells J.R., Ayvazian V.M., Dantrassy H.M., Zhang LY, Mathur B.N., Cheer JF. (2023) Selective chemogenetic inactivation of corticoaccumbal projections disrupts trait choice impulsivity. Neuropsychopharmacology.
Bacharach SZ, Martin DA, Stapf CA, Sun F, Li Y, Cheer JF, Calu DJ. (2023) Decreased ventral tegmental area CB1R signaling reduces sign-tracking and shifts cue-outcome dynamics in rat nucleus accumbens. Journal of Neuroscience.
Figueiredo A, Cheer JF. (2023) Endocannabinoid regulation of hippocampus-dependent memory. Experimental Neurology. 364:114384
Zhang LY, Kim AY, Cheer JF. (2022) Regulation of glutamate homeostasis in the nucleus accumbens by astrocytic CB1 receptors and its role in cocaine-motivated behaviors. Addiction Neuroscience. 3:100022
Peters KZ, Zlebnik NE, Cheer JF. (2022) Cannabis exposure during adolescence: A uniquely sensitive period for neurobiological effects. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2022;161:95-120.
Lovinger DM, Mateo Y, Johnson KA, Engi SA, Antonazzo M, Cheer JF. (2022) Local Modulation by Presynaptic Receptors Controls Neuronal Communication and Behaviour. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 23:191-203
Covey DP, Hernandez E, Luján MÁ, Cheer JF. (2021) Chronic Augmentation of Endocannabinoid Levels Persistently Increases Dopaminergic Encoding of Reward Cost and Motivation. J Neurosci. 41(32): 6946-6953
Cocaine-induced increases in motivation require 2-arachidonoylglycerol mobilization and CB1 receptor activation in the ventral tegmental area. Neuropharmacology. 193:108625.
Aroni S, Marino RAM, Girven KS, Irving JM, Cheer JF, Sparta DR. (2021) Repeated binge ethanol drinking enhances electrical activity of central amygdala corticotropin releasing factor neurons in vivo. Neuropharmacology. 189:108527.
Peters KZ, Cheer JF, Tonini R. (2021) Modulating the Neuromodulators: Dopamine, Serotonin, and the Endocannabinoid System. Trends Neurosci. 44(6):464-477.
Traccis F, Serra V, Sagheddu C, Congiu M, Saba P, Giua G, Devoto P, Frau R, Cheer JF, Melis M. (2021) Prenatal THC Does Not Affect Female Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System in Preadolescent Rats. Int J Mol Sci. 22: 1666.
Gomez DM, Everett TJ, Hamilton LR, Ranganath A, Cheer JF, & Oleson EB. (2020). Chronic cannabinoid exposure produces tolerance to the dopamine releasing effects of WIN 55,212-2 and heroin in adult male rats. Neuropharmacology. 182:108374.
Luján MÁ, Cheer JF, & Melis M. (2020). Choosing the right drug: status and future of endocannabinoid research for the prevention of drug-seeking reinstatement. Current opinion in pharmacology, 56:29-38.
Sagheddu C, Traccis F, Serra V, Congiu M, Frau R, Cheer JF, & Melis M. (2020). Mesolimbic dopamine dysregulation as a signature of information processing deficits imposed by prenatal THC exposure. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry. 105:110128.
Girven KS, Aroni S, Navarrete J, Marino R, McKeon PN, Cheer JF, & Sparta DR. (2020). Glutamatergic input from the insula to the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis controls reward-related behavior. Addiction biology, 26(3):e12961.
Schneider KN, Sciarillo XA, Nudelman JL, Cheer JF, & Roesch MR. (2020) Anterior Cingulate Cortex Signals Attention in a Social Paradigm that Manipulates Reward and Shock. Current Biology, 30(19), 3724–3735.
Peters KZ, Oleson EB, Cheer JF. (2020) A Brain on Cannabinoids: The Role of Dopamine Release in Reward Seeking and Addiction. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 11(1):a039305.
Frau R, Miczán V, Traccis F, Aroni S, Pongor CI, Saba P, Serra V, Sagheddu C, Fanni S, Congiu M, Devoto P, Cheer JF, Katona I, Melis M. (2019) Prenatal THC exposure produces a hyperdopaminergic phenotype rescued by pregnenolone. Nature Neuroscience, 22(12), 1975–1985.
Nam H, Chandra R, Francis TC, Dias C, Cheer JF, Lobo MK. (2019) Reduced nucleus accumbens enkephalins underlie vulnerability to social defeat stress. Neuropsychopharmacology, 44: 1876-1885.
Covey DP, Cheer JF. (2019) Accumbal dopamine release tracks the expectation of dopamine neuron-mediated reinforcement. Cell Reports, 27: 481-490.
Zlebnik NE, Gildish I, Sesia T, Fitoussi A, Cole EA, Carson BP, Cachope R, Cheer JF. (2019) Motivational impairment is accompanied by corticoaccumbal dysfunction in the BACHD-Tg5 rat model of Huntington’s Disease. Cerebral Cortex, 29(11), 4763–4774.
Cover KK, Gyawali U, Kerkhoff WG, Patton MH, Mu C, White MG, Marquardt AE, Roberts BM, Cheer JF, Mathur BN. (2019) Activation of the rostral intralaminar thalamus drives reinforcement through striatal dopamine release. Cell Reports, 26: 1389-1398.
Wang HL, Zhang S, Qi J, Wang H, Cachope R, Mejias-Aponte CA, Gomez JA, Mateo-Semidey GE, Beaudoin GMJ, Paladini CA, Cheer JF, Morales M. (2019) Dorsal raphe dual serotonin-glutamate neurons drive reward by establishing excitatory synapses on VTA mesoaccumbens dopamine neurons. Cell Reports, 26: 1128-1142.
Lichtenberg NT, Lee B, Kashtelyan V, Chappa BS, Girma HT, Green EA, Kantor S, Lagowala DA, Myers MA, Potemri D, Pecukonis MG, Tesfay RT, Walters MS, Zhao AC, Blair RJR, Cheer JF, Roesch MR. (2018) Rat behavior and dopamine release are modulated by conspecific distress. Elife. 7:e38090.
Radke AK, Kocharian A, Covey DP, Lovinger DM, Cheer JF, Mateo Y, Holmes A. (2018) Contributions of nucleus accumbens dopamine to cognitive flexibility. European Journal of Neuroscience, 50: 2023-2035
Yohn SE, Foster DJ, Covey DP, Moehle MS, Galbraith J, Garcia-Barrantes PM, Cho HP, Bubser M, Blobaum AL, Joffe ME, Cheer JF, Jones CK, Lindsley CW, Conn PJ. (2018) Activation of the mGlu1 metabotropic glutamate receptor hasantipsychotic-like effects and is required for efficacy of M4 muscarinic receptor allosteric modulators. Molecular Psychiatry. 25(11):2786-2799.
Bacharach SZ, Nasser HM, Zlebnik NE, Dantrassy HM, Kochli DE, Gyawali U, Cheer JF, Calu DJ. (2018). Cannabinoid receptor-1 signaling contributions to sign-tracking and conditioned reinforcement in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 235: 3031-3043.
Covey DP, Dantrassy HM, Yohn SE, Castro A, Conn PJ, Mateo Y, Cheer JF (2018). Inhibition of endocannabinoid degradation rectifies motivational and dopaminergic deficits in the Q175 mouse model of Huntington’s disease. Neuropsychopharmacology, 43: 2056-2063.
Wenzel JM, Oleson EB, Love WN, Cole AB, Gyawali U, Dantrassy HM, Bluett RJ, Dryanovski DI, Stuber GD, Deisseroth K, Mathur BN, Patel S, Lupica CR, Cheer JF (2018). Phasic dopamine signals in the nucleus accumbens that cause active avoidance require endocannabinoid mobilization in the midbrain. Current Biology, 28: 1-13.
Bailey MR, Goldman O, Bello EP, Chohan MO, Jeong N, Winiger V, Chun E, Schipani E, Kalmbach A, Cheer JF, Balsam PD, Simpson EH (2018). An interaction between serotonin receptor signaling and dopamine enhances goal-directed vigor and persistence in mice. The Journal of Neuroscience, 38: 2149 –2162.
Mateo, Y., Johnson, K.A., Covey, D.P., Atwood, Wang, H., Zhang, S., Gildish, I., Cachope, R., Bellocchio, L., Guzma ́n, M., Morales, M., Cheer, J.F.*, & Lovinger, D.M.* (2017). Endocannabinoid actions on cortical terminals orchestrate local modulation of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Neuron, 96, 1112–1126. * = Senior Author Contibution
Cheer, J.F. (2017). A new dawn in cannabinoid neurobiology: The road from molecules to therapeutic discoveries. Neuropharmacology, 124, 1-2.
Wenzel, J. M. & Cheer, J. F. (2017). Endocannabinoid regulation of reward and reinforcement through interaction with dopamine and endogenous opioid signaling. Neuropsychopharmacology, 43, 103-115
Lopatina, N., Sadacca, B. F., McDannald, M. A., Styer, C. V., Cheer, J. F., & Schoenbaum, G. (2017). Ensembles in medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex construct cognitive maps emphasizing different features of the behavioral landscape. Behavioral Neuroscience, 131(3), 201-212.
Covey, D. P., Mateo, Y., Sulzer, D., Cheer, J. F., & Lovinger, D. M. (2017). Endocannabinoid modulation of dopamine neurotransmission. Neuropharmacology , 124, 52-61.
Patel, S., Hill, M. N., Cheer, J. F., Wotjak, C. T., & Holmes, A. (2017). The endocannabinoid system as a target for novel anxiolytic drugs. Neuroscience and BioBehavioral Reviews , 76(Pt A), 56-66.
Terrillion, C. E., Dao, D. T., Cachope, R., Lobo, M. K., Puche, A. C., Cheer, J. F., & Gould, T. D. (2017). Reduced levels of Cacna1c attenuate mesolimbic dopamine system function. Genes, Brain and Behavior , 16(5), 495-505.
Can, A., Frost, D. O., Cache, R. Cheer, J. F., & Gould, T. D. (2016). Chronic lithium treatment rectifies maladaptive dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. The Journal of Neurochemistry, 139(4), 576-585.
Zlebnik, N. E., & Cheer, J. F. (2016). Drug-Induced Alterations of Endocannabinoid-Mediated Plasticity in Brain Reward Regions. The Journal of Neuroscience, 36(40), 10230-10238.
Covey, D. P., Zlebnik, N. E., & Cheer, J. F. (2016). Endocannabinoid Regulation of Cocaine Reinforcement: an Upper or Downer? Neuropsychopharmacology , 41(9), 2189-2191.
Zlebnik, N. E., & Cheer, J. F. (2016). Beyond the CB1 receptor: Is cannabidiol the answer for disorders of motivation? Annual Review of Neuroscience.
Covey, D. P., Dantrassy, H. M., Zlebnik, N. E., Gildish, I., & Cheer, J. F. (2016). Compromised dopaminergic encoding of reward accompanying suppressed willingness to overcome high effort costs is a prominent prodromal characteristic of the Q175 mouse model of Huntington’s disease. The Journal of Neuroscience, 36(18), 4993-5002.
Can, A., Zanos, P., Moaddel, R., Kang, H. J., Dossou, K. S., Wainer, I. W., Cheer, J. F., Frost, D. O., Huang, X. P. & Gould, T. D. (2016). Effects of ketamine and ketamine metabolites on evoked striatal dopamine release, dopamine receptors, and monoamine transporters. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 359(1), 159-170.
Lopatina, N., McDannald, M. A., Styer, C. V., Peterson, J. F., Sadacca, B. F., Cheer, J. F., & Schoenbaum, G. (2016). Medial orbitofrontal neurons preferentially signal cues predicting changes in reward during unblocking. The Journal of Neuroscience, 36(32), 8416-8424.
Covey, D. P., Bunner, K. D., Schuweiler, D. R., Cheer, J. F., & Garris, P. A. (2016). Amphetamine elevates nucleus accumbens dopamine via an action potential-dependent mechanism that is modulated by endocannabinoids. European Journal of Neuroscience.
Lopatina, N., McDannald, M. A., Styer, C. V., Sadacca, B. F., Cheer, J. F., & Schoenbaum, G. (2015). Lateral orbitofrontal neurons acquire responses to upshifted, downshifted, or blocked cues during unblocking. eLife, 4, e11299.
Bagot, R. C., Parise, E. M., Peña, C. J., Zhang, H. X., Maze, I., Chaudhury, D., Persaud, B., Cachope, R., Bolaños-Guzmán C. A., Cheer J. F., Deisseroth K., Han M. H. & Deisseroth, K. (2015). Ventral hippocampal afferents to the nucleus accumbens regulate susceptibility to depression. Nature Communications, 6.
Hernandez, G., & Cheer, J. F. (2015). To act or not to act: endocannabinoid/dopamine interactions in decision-making. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9.
Covey, D. P., Wenzel, J. M., & Cheer, J. F. (2015). Cannabinoid modulation of drug reward and the implications of marijuana legalization. Brain Research, 1628, 233-243.
Wang, H., Treadway, T., Covey, D. P., Cheer, J. F., & Lupica, C. R. (2015). Cocaine-induced endocannabinoid mobilization in the ventral tegmental area. Cell Reports, 12(12), 1997-2008.