Harvard University · Microbiology & ImmunologyDopamine Circuitry and Behavior Lab
Naoshige Uchida · Cambridge, Massachusetts
Research Focus
Dr. Naoshige Uchida's lab at Harvard University studies the neural circuits that control dopamine neuron activity, which is important for regulating behavior, motivation, and mood. Their research focuses on how different signals are processed in the brain's reward pathways and aims to uncover the mechanisms behind dopamine-related disorders like addiction and depression. By using advanced techniques, the lab investigates how neurons communicate and how learning influences these processes.
dopamineneural circuitsreward predictionelectrophysiologyoptogeneticsbehavioraddictionlearningmental disordersmolecular genetics
Research Aims
3AIM 01Examine the role of glutamate inputs to dopamine neurons in generating reward signals.
AIM 02Map cell type-specific presynaptic inputs to dopamine neurons across brain regions.
AIM 03Investigate how dopamine responses change with learning and reward cues.
Skills the Lab Values
electrophysiologyoptogeneticsfiber photometrygenetically-encoded sensorsrabies virus labelinganatomical mappingbehavioral assaysdata analysisneuroscience techniquescell culture
Output against the department
Publications234top 26% of dept.125th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations21ktop 18% of dept.87th of 486
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.