Randy Blakely's research at FAU provides evidence for the saying, “There’s no place like home.” By monitoring a biomarker associated with reward, he discovered that mice prefer their home cage over a look-alike environment, with home eliciting a dopamine response similar to cocaine.

“Our data provide clear evidence of a biochemical foundation for the reinforcing properties of home cage return. This simple environmental manipulation can provide a minimally-invasive approach to peel away aspects of reward circuitry connected to natural reinforcers – one that is critical to an animal’s survival,” said Blakely. 

• Randy Blakely