GENERAL AUDIENCE ARTICLES

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Kaun KR (2024) Alcohol and drugs rewire your brain by changing how your genes work - research is investigating how to counteract addiction's effects. The Conversation.

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FEATURED RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS

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Scaplen KM, Talay M, Fisher JD, Cohn R, Sorkac A, Aso Y, Barnea G, Kaun KR (2021) Transsynaptic mapping of Drosophila mushroom body output neurons. eLife 10:e66379.

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Highlights:

Scaplen, KM (2024) Human brains and fruit fly brains are built similarly - visualizing how helps researchers better understand how both work. The Conversation. 

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Scaplen KM, Talay M, Nunez KM, Salamon S, Waterman AG, Gang S, Song SL, Barnea G, Kaun KR (2020) Circuits that encode and guide alcohol-associated preference. eLife 9:e48730.

    

Highlights:

Scientists map neural circuits required for alcohol-associated preference. Carney Institute for Brain Science News.

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Petrucelli E, Brown T, Waterman A, Ledru N, Kaun KR (2020) Alcohol causes lasting differential transcription in Drosophila mushroom body neurons. Genetics 215(1), 103-106.

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Petruccelli E, Feyder M, Ledru N, Jaques Y, Anderson E, Kaun KR (2018) Alcohol activates Scabrous/Notch to influence associated memories. Neuron 100, 1-15.

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Features in the press:

Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed. October 24, 2018 by Mollie Rappe, News From Brown.

Alcohol hijacks how brain makes memories - in fruit flies. October 24, 2018 by Kashmira Gander. Newsweek.

Alcohol 'hijacks' the brain to impair memory and cause long-lasting cravings, study suggests. October 24, 2018 by Alex Matthews-King. Independent.

Alcohol changes memories on a much deeper level than we thought. October 29, 2019 by Peter Hess. Inverse.

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Shohat-Ophir G, Kaun KR, Azanchi R, Mohammed H, Heberlein U (2012) Sexual deprivation increases ethanol intake in Drosophila. Science 335:1351-1355.

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Features in the press:

Sexually rejected flies turn to booze. March 15, 2012 by Sarah C. P. Williams. Science News.

Learning from the spurned and tipsy fruit fly. March 15, 2012 by Benedict Carey. New York Times.

Sex-starved fruit flies turn to drink. March 15, 2012 by Jason Palmer. BBC News.

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Kaun KR, Azanchi R, Maung Z, Hirsh J, Heberlein U (2011) A Drosophila model for alcohol reward. Nature Neuroscience 14:612-9.

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WHAT'S NEW

 

Scaplen KM, Kaun RK (2023) Dopamine determines how reward overrides risk. Nature, News and Views,  https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03085-4. Commentary on Jovanoski et al (2023).

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Hernandez JS, Brown TM, Kaun KR (2023) Drosophila Reward Circuits. Oxford Research Encyclopedia: Neuroscience. doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264086.013.495. 

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Oepen AS, Catalano J, Azanchi R, Kaun KR (2021) The foraging gene affects alcohol sensitivity, metabolism and memory in Drosophila. Journal of Neurogenetics 1931178: 1-13.

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COLLABORATIONS

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Huggett SB, Ikeda AS, McGeary JE, Kaun KR, Palmer RHC (2022) Opioid use disorder and alternative mRNA splicing in reward circuitry. Genes 13(6): 10.3390/genes1301045.

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D'Silva NM*, McCullar KS*, Conard A, Blackwater T, Azanchi A, Heberlein U, Larschan E, Kaun KR (2021) Neuromolecular and behavioral effects of ethanol deprivation in Drosophila. bioRxiv 425101.

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REVIEWS AND COMMENTARIES

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Nunez KM, Catalano JL, Scaplen KM, Kaun KR (2023) Ethanol behavioral responses in Drosophila. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Protocols. doi: 11.1101/pdb.top107887.

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Hernandez J, Kaun KR (2022) Alcohol, neuronal plasticity, and mitochondrial trafficking. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119(29): e2208744119. Commentary on Knabbe et al 2022. 

 

Petrucelli E, Kaun KR (2019) Insights from intoxicated Drosophila. Alcohol 74: 21-27.

 

Kaun KR, Rothenfluh A (2017) Dopaminergic rules of engagement for memory in Drosophila. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 43: 56-62.

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Scaplen KM, Kaun KR (2016) Reward from bugs to bipeds: a comparative approach to understanding how reward circuits function. Journal of Neurogenetics 30(2):133-148.

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METHODS

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Nunez KM, Catalano JL, Scaplen KM, Kaun KR (2023) Methods for exploring the circuit basis of ethanol-induced changes in Drosophila locomotor activity. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Protocols. doi: 11.1101/pdb.prot108138.

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Catalano JL, Mei N, Azanchi R, Song S, Blackwater T, Heberlein U, Kaun KR (2020) Behavioral features of motivated response to alcohol in Drosophila. bioRXiv 953026.

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Scaplen KM*, Mei NJ*, Bounds HA, Song SL, Azanchi R, Kaun KR (2019) Automated real-time quantification of group locomotor activity in Drosophila melanogaster. Scientific Reports 9:4427.   *These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Nunez K, Azanchi R, Kaun KR (2018) Cue-induced ethanol seeking in Drosophila melanogaster is dose-dependent. Frontiers in Physiology 9(438):1-12.

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All of the plans for building apparatuses, tracking flies, and analyzing data using assays developed by the Kaun Lab are posted on the kaunlab GitHub. Feel free to reach out with questions!

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