Elyssa Margolis, PhD
Professor
Neurology
School of Medicine

We study the Neurobiology of Addiction, and specifically the neural circuits and G Protein Coupled Receptor function involved in drug reinforcement and seeking. We use a wide range of preclinical tools including whole cell electrophysiology, conventional anatomical techniques, behavioral and neural pharmacology, and in vivo and ex vivo optogenetics. For more information visit http://elyssabmargolis.com/

Education & Training

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• Ph.D. Graduate Division (Bioengineering) University of California, San Francisco 2003
• Postdoctoral Studies Graduate Division University of California, San Francisco

Grants and Projects

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• Understanding endogenous opioid drive of alcohol consumption, NIH, 2018-2023
• Resolving differences between clinical opioids at single neurons, NIH, 2021-2023
• The role of the VTA-lateral habenula circuit in opioid mediated behaviors, NIH, 2017-2022
• Heterogeneity of Ventral Tegmental Area Neurons and Opioid Reward, NIH, 2011-2016

Publications (37)

Top publication keywords:
DopamineHabenulaReceptors, OpioidGABAergic NeuronsReceptors, Opioid, deltaNeuronsMesencephalonDopaminergic NeuronsAnalgesics, OpioidEnkephalin, Ala(2)-MePhe(4)-Gly(5)-Opioid PeptidesReceptors, Opioid, muReceptors, Opioid, kappaVentral Tegmental AreaReward

• The life and times of endogenous opioid peptides: Updated understanding of synthesis, spatiotemporal dynamics, and the clinical impact in alcohol use disorder.
  Neuropharmacology 2022 Margolis EB, Moulton MG, Lambeth PS, O'Meara MJ
• A diencephalic circuit in rats for opioid analgesia but not positive reinforcement.
  Nature communications 2022 Waung MW, Maanum KA, Cirino TJ, Driscoll JR, O'Brien C, Bryant S, Mansourian KA, Morales M, Barker DJ, Margolis EB
• A Novel Mitragynine Analog with Low-Efficacy Mu Opioid Receptor Agonism Displays Antinociception with Attenuated Adverse Effects.
  Journal of medicinal chemistry 2021 Chakraborty S, DiBerto JF, Faouzi A, Bernhard SM, Gutridge AM, Ramsey S, Zhou Y, Provasi D, Nuthikattu N, Jilakara R, Nelson MNF, Asher WB, Eans SO, Wilson LL, Chintala SM, Filizola M, van Rijn RM, …
• Ventral tegmental area GABA, glutamate, and glutamate-GABA neurons are heterogeneous in their electrophysiological and pharmacological properties.
  The European journal of neuroscience 2021 Miranda-Barrientos J, Chambers I, Mongia S, Liu B, Wang HL, Mateo-Semidey GE, Margolis EB, Zhang S, Morales M
• Differential effects of novel kappa opioid receptor antagonists on dopamine neurons using acute brain slice electrophysiology.
  PloS one 2020 Margolis EB, Wallace TL, Van Orden LJ, Martin WJ

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• Differential Modulation of Ventral Tegmental Area Circuits by the Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ System.
  eNeuro 2020 Driscoll JR, Wallace TL, Mansourian KA, Martin WJ, Margolis EB
• Five Decades of Research on Opioid Peptides: Current Knowledge and Unanswered Questions.
  Molecular pharmacology 2020 Fricker LD, Margolis EB, Gomes I, Devi LA
• Biased signaling by endogenous opioid peptides.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2020 Gomes I, Sierra S, Lueptow L, Gupta A, Gouty S, Margolis EB, Cox BM, Devi LA
• A Midbrain Circuit that Mediates Headache Aversiveness in Rats.
  Cell reports 2019 Waung MW, Margolis EB, Charbit AR, Fields HL
• Dopaminergic cellular and circuit contributions to kappa opioid receptor mediated aversion.
  Neurochemistry international 2019 Margolis EB, Karkhanis AN
• Relative contributions and mapping of ventral tegmental area dopamine and GABA neurons by projection target in the rat.
  The Journal of comparative neurology 2018 Breton JM, Charbit AR, Snyder BJ, Fong PTK, Dias EV, Himmels P, Lock H, Margolis EB
• Dopamine neurons create Pavlovian conditioned stimuli with circuit-defined motivational properties.
  Nature neuroscience 2018 Saunders BT, Richard JM, Margolis EB, Janak PH
• Two delta opioid receptor subtypes are functional in single ventral tegmental area neurons, and can interact with the mu opioid receptor.
  Neuropharmacology 2017 Margolis EB, Fujita W, Devi LA, Fields HL
• Ventral tegmental area: cellular heterogeneity, connectivity and behaviour.
  Nature reviews. Neuroscience 2017 Morales M, Margolis EB
• Voluntary adolescent drinking enhances excitation by low levels of alcohol in a subset of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area.
  Neuropharmacology 2016 Avegno EM, Salling MC, Borgkvist A, Mrejeru A, Whitebirch AC, Margolis EB, Sulzer D, Harrison NL
• Mu Opioid Receptor Actions in the Lateral Habenula.
  PloS one 2016 Margolis EB, Fields HL
• Identification of GPR83 as the receptor for the neuroendocrine peptide PEN.
  Science signaling 2016 Gomes I, Bobeck EN, Margolis EB, Gupta A, Sierra S, Fakira AK, Fujita W, Müller TD, Müller A, Tschöp MH, Kleinau G, Fricker LD, Devi LA
• Understanding opioid reward.
  Trends in neurosciences 2015 Fields HL, Margolis EB
• Direct bidirectional μ-opioid control of midbrain dopamine neurons.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2014 Margolis EB, Hjelmstad GO, Fujita W, Fields HL
• Loss of mitochondrial fission depletes axonal mitochondria in midbrain dopamine neurons.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2014 Berthet A, Margolis EB, Zhang J, Hsieh I, Zhang J, Hnasko TS, Ahmad J, Edwards RH, Sesaki H, Huang EJ, Nakamura K
• New insights into the specificity and plasticity of reward and aversion encoding in the mesolimbic system.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2013 Volman SF, Lammel S, Margolis EB, Kim Y, Richard JM, Roitman MF, Lobo MK
• Intra-VTA deltorphin, but not DPDPE, induces place preference in ethanol-drinking rats: distinct DOR-1 and DOR-2 mechanisms control ethanol consumption and reward.
  Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research 2013 Mitchell JM, Margolis EB, Coker AR, Allen DC, Fields HL
• Opioid modulation of ventral pallidal afferents to ventral tegmental area neurons.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2013 Hjelmstad GO, Xia Y, Margolis EB, Fields HL
• Identification of rat ventral tegmental area GABAergic neurons.
  PloS one 2012 Margolis EB, Toy B, Himmels P, Morales M, Fields HL
• Alcohol self-administration, anxiety, and cortisol levels predict changes in delta opioid receptor function in the ventral tegmental area.
  Behavioral neuroscience 2012 Mitchell JM, Margolis EB, Coker AR, Fields HL
• A novel opioid receptor-mediated enhancement of GABAA receptor function induced by stress in ventral tegmental area neurons.
  The Journal of physiology 2011 Margolis EB, Mitchell JM, Hjelmstad GO, Fields HL
• Nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons target non-dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2011 Xia Y, Driscoll JR, Wilbrecht L, Margolis EB, Fields HL, Hjelmstad GO
• Reliability in the identification of midbrain dopamine neurons.
  PloS one 2010 Margolis EB, Coker AR, Driscoll JR, Lemaître AI, Fields HL
• Substance P inhibits GABAB receptor signalling in the ventral tegmental area.
  The Journal of physiology 2010 Xia YF, Margolis EB, Hjelmstad GO
• Glutamatergic and nonglutamatergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area establish local synaptic contacts with dopaminergic and nondopaminergic neurons.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2010 Dobi A, Margolis EB, Wang HL, Harvey BK, Morales M
• Delta-opioid receptor expression in the ventral tegmental area protects against elevated alcohol consumption.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2008 Margolis EB, Fields HL, Hjelmstad GO, Mitchell JM
• Midbrain dopamine neurons: projection target determines action potential duration and dopamine D(2) receptor inhibition.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2008 Margolis EB, Mitchell JM, Ishikawa J, Hjelmstad GO, Fields HL
• Ventral tegmental area neurons in learned appetitive behavior and positive reinforcement.
  Annual review of neuroscience 2007 Fields HL, Hjelmstad GO, Margolis EB, Nicola SM
• The ventral tegmental area revisited: is there an electrophysiological marker for dopaminergic neurons?
  The Journal of physiology 2006 Margolis EB, Lock H, Hjelmstad GO, Fields HL
• Kappa opioids selectively control dopaminergic neurons projecting to the prefrontal cortex.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2006 Margolis EB, Lock H, Chefer VI, Shippenberg TS, Hjelmstad GO, Fields HL
• Both kappa and mu opioid agonists inhibit glutamatergic input to ventral tegmental area neurons.
  Journal of neurophysiology 2004 Margolis EB, Hjelmstad GO, Bonci A, Fields HL
• Kappa-opioid agonists directly inhibit midbrain dopaminergic neurons.
  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2003 Margolis EB, Hjelmstad GO, Bonci A, Fields HL