OxTalks is Changing
OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Myelin Plasticity: a New Neural Circuit Modifier for Opioid Reward
This is a virtual event; please contact events@dpag.ox.ac.uk for Teams Link
Neural activity-regulated myelin plasticity is increasingly recognized as a dynamic regulator of neural circuit function shaping cognition and learning. However, its role in pathological circuit remodelling remains largely unexplored. Drugs of abuse, including opioids such as morphine, target the dopaminergic reward system and drive persistent synaptic and circuit-level modifications. Although microglia and astrocytes have been implicated in these adaptations, the contribution of myelin-forming oligodendroglial lineage cells, which are uniquely positioned to modify circuit function, has remained unknown. In this talk, I will discuss our findings demonstrating that myelin plasticity is a key modulator of dopaminergic circuit function and opioid reward. Increased dopaminergic neuron activity, evoked by either optogenetic stimulation or morphine, induces oligodendrogenesis within the reward system in a circuit- and region-specific manner. Disrupting this myelin plasticity through conditional blockade of oligodendrogenesis abrogates morphine-associated reward learning, identifying oligodendroglial cells as critical regulators of reward behaviour. Real-time dopamine recordings reveal that myelin plasticity is necessary for modulating network synchrony and ensuring a timely dopamine release required for reward learning. Our findings establish myelin plasticity as a previously unappreciated feature of dopaminergic reward circuitry that critically contributes to the behavioural reinforcing effects of opioids.
Date:
21 January 2026, 15:00
Venue:
This is a virtual event; please contact events@dpag.ox.ac.uk for Teams Link
Speaker:
Dr Belgin Yalçın (Stanford University)
Organising department:
Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG)
Organiser contact email address:
events@dpag.ox.ac.uk
Hosts:
Professor Stephanie Cragg (DPAG, University of Oxford),
Associate Professor Armin Lak (University of Oxford)
Part of:
Neuroscience Theme Guest Speakers (DPAG)
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Hannah Simm
