Investigating the neural underpinnings of affect and motivation in models of addiction
The central goal of research in the Richard Lab is to understand how our external environments and internal states act together to powerfully modulate motivated behaviors. We aim to reveal the neural circuits underlying positively- and negatively-valenced motivated behaviors, and to determine how physiological and affective states, including withdrawal, stress, pleasure and arousal, impact this circuitry to modulate the intensity and form of motivated behaviors, especially in models of compulsive alcohol use.