Publications

Gu X, Zhang Y, O’Malley JJ, de Preter C, Penzo MA, Hoon MA. (in press) cVLM neurons mediate descending pain control. Nature Neuroscience.

Singh S, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Benowitz B, Chaudhry S, Jun Ma, Adke AP,  Soler-Cedeño O, Velasquez D, Penzo MA, Carrasquillo Y. (2022) An inhibitory circuit from central amygdala to zona incerta drives pain-related behaviors in mice. eLife. 10.7554/eLife.68760

Gao C, Gohel C, Leng Y, Goldman D, Levine AJ, Penzo MA. (2022) Molecular and spatial profiling of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.19.500649 

Moscarello JM#, Penzo MA# (2022) The central nucleus of the amygdala and the construction of defensive modes across the threat imminence continuum. Nature Neuroscience. 25: 999-10008.

Ma J, du Hoffmann J, Kindel M, Beas BS, Chudasama Y, & Penzo MA (2021). Divergent projections of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus mediate the selection of passive and active defensive behaviors. Nature Neuroscience. 24(10), 1429–1440. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00912-7

Penzo MA, Gao C. The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus: an integrative node underlying homeostatic behavior. Trends in Neurosciences. 2021 Mar 25; S0166-2236(21)00041-2. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.03.001. PMID: 33775435.

Beas BS, Gu X, Leng Y, Koita O, Rodriguez-Gonzalez S, Kindel M, Matikainen-Ankney BA, Larsen RS, Kravitz AV, Hoon MA, Penzo MA. A ventrolateral medulla-midline thalamic circuit for hypoglycemic feeding. Nature Communications. 2020 Dec 4;11(1):6218. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19980-7. PMID: 33277492; PMCID: PMC7719163. 

Gao C, Leng Y, Ma J, Rooke V, Rodriguez-Gonzalez S, Ramakrishnan C, Deisseroth K, Penzo MA. Two genetically, anatomically and functionally distinct cell types segregate across anteroposterior axis of paraventricular thalamus. Nature Neuroscience. 2020 Feb;23(2):217-228. doi: 10.1038/s41593-019-0572-3. Epub 2020 Jan 13. PMID: 31932767; PMCID: PMC7007348. 

Fernandez DC, Komal R, Langel J, Ma J, Duy PQ, Penzo MA, Zhao H, Hattar S. Retinal innervation tunes circuits that drive nonphotic entrainment to food. Nature. 2020 May;581(7807):194-198. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2204-1. Epub 2020 Apr 22. PMID: 32404998; PMCID: PMC7291822. 

Delevich K, Jaaro-Peled H, Penzo M, Sawa A, Li B. Parvalbumin Interneuron Dysfunction in a Thalamo-Prefrontal Cortical Circuit in Disc1 Locus Impairment Mice. eNeuro. 2020 Mar 3;7(2):ENEURO.0496-19.2020. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0496-19.2020. PMID: 32029441; PMCID: PMC7054897. 

Beas BS, Wright BJ, Skirzewski M, Leng Y, Hyun JH, Koita O, Ringelberg N, Kwon HB, Buonanno A, Penzo MA. The locus coeruleus drives disinhibition in the midline thalamus via a dopaminergic mechanism. Nature Neuroscience. 2018 Jul;21(7):963-973. doi: 10.1038/s41593-018-0167-4. Epub 2018 Jun 18. PMID: 29915192; PMCID: PMC6035776. 

Ahrens S, Wu MV, Furlan A, Hwang GR, Paik R, Li H, Penzo MA, Tollkuhn J, Li B. A Central Extended Amygdala Circuit That Modulates Anxiety. Journal of Neuroscience. 2018 Jun 13;38(24):5567-5583. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0705-18.2018. Epub 2018 May 29. PMID: 29844022; PMCID: PMC6001032. 

Schiff HC, Bouhuis AL, Yu K, Penzo MA, Li H, He M, Li B. An Insula-Central Amygdala Circuit for Guiding Tastant-Reinforced Choice Behavior. Journal of Neuroscience. 2018 Feb 7;38(6):1418-1429. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1773-17.2017. Epub 2018 Jan 5. PMID: 29305535; PMCID: PMC5815345. 

Do Monte FH, Quirk GJ, Li B, Penzo MA. Retrieving fear memories, as time goes by…. Molecular Psychiatry. 2016 Aug;21(8):1027-36. doi: 10.1038/mp.2016.78. Epub 2016 May 24. PMID: 27217148; PMCID: PMC4956525. 

Stephenson-Jones M, Yu K, Ahrens S, Tucciarone JM, van Huijstee AN, Mejia LA, Penzo MA, Tai LH, Wilbrecht L, Li B. A basal ganglia circuit for evaluating action outcomes. Nature. 2016 Nov 10;539(7628):289-293. doi: 10.1038/nature19845. Epub 2016 Sep 21. PMID: 27652894; PMCID: PMC5161609. 

Penzo MA**, Robert V, Tucciarone J, De Bundel D, Wang M, Van Aelst L, Darvas M, Parada LF, Palmiter RD, He M, Huang ZJ, Li B. The paraventricular thalamus controls a central amygdala fear circuit. Nature. 2015 Mar 26;519(7544):455-9. doi: 10.1038/nature13978. Epub 2015 Jan 19. PMID: 25600269; PMCID: PMC4376633. **Corresponding author.

Penzo MA, Robert V, Li B. Fear conditioning potentiates synaptic transmission onto long-range projection neurons in the lateral subdivision of central amygdala. Journal of Neuroscience. 2014 Feb 12;34(7):2432-7. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4166-13.2014. PMID: 24523533; PMCID: PMC3921418. 

Li H, Penzo MA*, Taniguchi H, Kopec CD, Huang ZJ, Li B. Experience-dependent modification of a central amygdala fear circuit. Nature Neuroscience. 2013 Mar;16(3):332-9. doi: 10.1038/nn.3322. Epub 2013 Jan 27. PMID: 23354330; PMCID: PMC3581751. *Equal contribution.