Tjahjono, N., Wang, Y.-S., & Tian, L. (2026). The sound of neural silence. eLife, 15, e111079.
 

Livrizzi, G., Chang-Weinberg, J., Johnson, D. A., Lubejko, S. T., Liao, J., Kimmey, B. A., Dong, C., Li, Y., Beier, K. T., Corder, G., Tian, L., & Banghart, M. R. (2026). Top-down control of the descending pain modulatory system drives multimodal placebo analgesia. Neuron, 0(0).
 

Lodder, B., Kamath, T., Savenco, E., Röring, B., Siegel, M., Chouinard, J. A., Lee, S. J., Zagoren, C., Rosen, P., Hartman, I., Timmins, J., Adan, R., Tian, L., & Sabatini, B. L. (2025). Absolute measurement of fast and slow neuronal signals with fluorescence lifetime photometry at high temporal resolution. Neuron, 113(21), 3554-3566.e7.
 

Kamath, T., Lodder, B., Bilsel, E., Green, I., Dalangin, R., Raghubardayal, M., Wang, W., Capelli, P., Legister, J., Timmins, J., Hulshof, L., Wallace, J. B., Tian, L., Uchida, N., Watabe-Uchida, M., & Sabatini, B. L. (2025). Hunger modulates exploration through suppression of dopamine signaling in the tail of the striatum. Neuron, S0896-6273(25)00697-X.
 

Sun, Q., Liu, M., Guan, W., Xiao, X., Dong, C., Bruchas, M. R., Zweifel, L. S., Li, Y., Tian, L., & Li, B. (2025). Dynorphin modulates reward-seeking actions through a pallido-amygdala cholinergic circuit. Neuron, 113(11), 1823-1840.e8.  

Midavaine, É., Moraes, B. C., Benitez, J., Rodriguez, S. R., Braz, J. M., Kochhar, N. P., Eckalbar, W. L., Tian, L., Domingos, A. I., Pintar, J. E., Basbaum, A. I., & Kashem, S. W. (2025). Meningeal regulatory T cells inhibit nociception in female mice. Science (New York, N.Y.), 388(6742), 96–104.
 

Gazit Shimoni, N., Tose, A. J., Seng, C., Jin, Y., Lukacsovich, T., Yang, H., Verharen, J. P. H., Liu, C., Tanios, M., Hu, E., Read, J., Tang, L. W., Lim, B. K., Tian, L., Földy, C., & Lammel, S. (2025). Changes in neurotensin signalling drive hedonic devaluation in obesity. Nature.
 

Kimmey, B. A., Ejoh, L., Shangloo, L., Wojick, J. A., Chehimi, S. N., McCall, N. M., Oswell, C. S., Mahmood, M., Yang, L., Samineni, V. K., Ramakrishnan, C., Deisseroth, K., Crist, R. C., Reiner, B. C., Tian, L., & Corder, G. (2025). Convergent state-control of endogenous opioid analgesia. bioRxiv: The Preprint Server for Biology, 2025.01.03.631111. 

Minère, M., Wilhelms, H., Kuzmanovic, B., Lundh, S., Fusca, D., Claßen, A., Shtiglitz, S., Prilutski, Y., Talpir, I., Tian, L., Kieffer, B., Davis, J., Kloppenburg, P., Tittgemeyer, M., Livneh, Y., & Fenselau, H. (2025). Thalamic opioids from POMC satiety neurons switch on sugar appetite. Science (New York, N.Y.), 387(6735), 750–758.
 

Muir, J., Lin, S., Aarrestad, I. K., Daniels, H. R., Ma, J., Tian, L., Olson, D. E., & Kim, C. K. (2024). Isolation of psychedelic-responsive neurons underlying anxiolytic behavioral states. Science, 386(6723), 802–810.
 

Wu, C.-T., Gonzalez Magaña, D., Roshgadol, J., Tian, L., & Ryan, K. K. (2024). Dietary protein restriction diminishes sucrose reward and reduces sucrose-evoked mesolimbic dopamine signaling in mice. Appetite, 203, 107673.
 

Zhang, S. X., Kim, A., Madara, J. C., Zhu, P. K., Christenson, L. F., Lutas, A., Kalugin, P. N., Sunkavalli, P. S., Jin, Y., Pal, A., Tian, L., Lowell, B. B., & Andermann, M. L. (2024). Stochastic neuropeptide signals compete to calibrate the rate of satiation. Nature.
 

Kim, M. J., Gibson, D. J., Hu, D., Yoshida, T., Hueske, E., Matsushima, A., Mahar, A., Schofield, C. J., Sompolpong, P., Tran, K. T., Tian, L., & Graybiel, A. M. (2024). Dopamine release plateau and outcome signals in dorsal striatum contrast with classic reinforcement learning formulations. Nature Communications, 15(1), 8856.
 

Dong, C., Gowrishankar, R., Jin, Y., He, X. J., Gupta, A., Wang, H., Sayar-Atasoy, N., Flores, R. J., Mahe, K., Tjahjono, N., Liang, R., Marley, A., Or Mizuno, G., Lo, D. K., Sun, Q., Whistler, J. L., Li, B., Gomes, I., Von Zastrow, M., … Tian, L. (2024). Unlocking opioid neuropeptide dynamics with genetically encoded biosensors. Nature Neuroscience, 1–14.
 

Wright, E. C., Scott, E., & Tian, L. (2024). Applications of functional neurotransmitter release imaging with genetically encoded sensors in psychiatric research. Neuropsychopharmacology, 1–5.
 

Wang, H., Flores, R. J., Yarur, H. E., Limoges, A., Bravo-Rivera, H., Casello, S. M., Loomba, N., Enriquez-Traba, J., Arenivar, M., Wang, Q., Ganley, R., Ramakrishnan, C., Fenno, L. E., Kim, Y., Deisseroth, K., Or, G., Dong, C., Hoon, M. A., Tian, L., & Tejeda, H. A. (2024). Prefrontal cortical dynorphin peptidergic transmission constrains threat-driven behavioral and network states. Neuron, 112(12), 2062-2078.e7.
 

Wilmot, J. H., Diniz, C. R. A. F., Crestani, A. P., Puhger, K., Roshgadol, J., Tian, L., & Wiltgen, B. J. (2024). Phasic locus coeruleus activity enhances trace fear conditioning by increasing dopamine release in the hippocampus elife 12: RP91465
 

Bukowski, L., Strøm, M. E., Andersen, J. L., Maesen, J. B., Tian, L., & Sinning, S. (2024). 5-HT_FAsTR: A versatile, label-free, high-throughput, fluorescence-based microplate assay to quantify serotonin transport and release. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 6541.
 

Vu, M.-A. T., Brown, E. H., Wen, M. J., Noggle, C. A., Zhang, Z., Monk, K. J., Bouabid, S., Mroz, L., Graham, B. M., Zhuo, Y., Li, Y., Otchy, T. M., Tian, L., Davison, I. G., Boas, D. A., & Howe, M. W. (2024). Targeted micro-fiber arrays for measuring and manipulating localized multi-scale neural dynamics over large, deep brain volumes during behavior. Neuron, 112(6), 909-923.e9.
 

Wright, E. C., Luo, P. X., Zakharenkov, H. C., Serna Godoy, A., Lake, A. A., Prince, Z. D., Sekar, S., Culkin, H. I., Ramirez, A. V., Dwyer, T., Kapoor, A., Corbett, C., Tian, L., Fox, A. S., & Trainor, B. C. (2023). Sexual differentiation of neural mechanisms of stress sensitivity during puberty. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(43), e2306475120.
 

Vargas, M. V., Dunlap, L. E., Dong, C., Carter, S. J., Tombari, R. J., Jami, S. A., Cameron, L. P., Patel, S. D., Hennessey, J. J., Saeger, H. N., McCorvy, J. D., Gray, J. A., Tian, L., & Olson, D. E. (2023). Psychedelics promote neuroplasticity through the activation of intracellular 5-HT2A receptors. Science, 379(6633), 700–706. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adf0435
 

Andreoni, A., & Tian, L. (2023). Lighting up action potentials with fast and bright voltage sensors. Nature Methods, 20(7), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-01928-6 

Jørgensen SH, Ejdrup AL, Lycas MD, Posselt LP, Madsen KL, Tian L, Dreyer JK, Herborg F, Sørensen AT, Gether U. Behavioral encoding across timescales by region-specific dopamine dynamics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Feb 14;120(7):e2215230120.  

Beatty, Z. G., Muthusamy, A. K., Unger, E. K., Dougherty, D. A., Tian, L., Looger, L. L., Shivange, A. V., Bera, K., Lester, H. A., & Nichols, A. L. (2022). Fluorescence Screens for Identifying Central Nervous System–Acting Drug–Biosensor Pairs for Subcellular and Supracellular Pharmacokinetics. Bio-Protocol, 12(22), e4551.

 

Klein Herenbrink, C., Støier, J. F., Reith, W. D., Dagra, A., Gregorek, M. A. C., Cola, R. B., Patriarchi, T., Li, Y., Tian, L., Gether, U., & Herborg, F. (2022). Multimodal detection of dopamine by sniffer cells expressing genetically encoded fluorescent sensors. Communications Biology, 5(1), Article 1.
 

Tjahjono, N., Jin, Y., Hsu, A., Roukes, M., & Tian, L. (2022). Letting the little light of mind shine: Advances and future directions in neurochemical detection. Neuroscience Research, 179, 65–78.
 

Dong, C., Zheng, Y., Long-Iyer, K., Wright, E. C., Li, Y., & Tian, L. (2022). Fluorescence Imaging of Neural Activity, Neurochemical Dynamics, and Drug-Specific Receptor Conformation with Genetically Encoded Sensors. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 45(1), 273–294.
 

Abraham, A. D., Casello, S. M., Schattauer, S. S., Wong, B. A., Mizuno, G. O., Mahe, K., Tian, L., Land, B. B., & Chavkin, C. (2021). Release of endogenous dynorphin opioids in the prefrontal cortex disrupts cognition. Neuropsychopharmacology, 46(13), Article 13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01168-2
 

Kutlu, M. G., Zachry, J. E., Melugin, P. R., Cajigas, S. A., Chevee, M. F., Kelly, S. J., Kutlu, B., Tian, L., Siciliano, C. A., & Calipari, E. S. (2021). Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core signals perceived saliency. Current Biology, 31(21), 4748-4761.e8.
 

Melzer, S., Newmark, E. R., Mizuno, G. O., Hyun, M., Philson, A. C., Quiroli, E., Righetti, B., Gregory, M. R., Huang, K. W., Levasseur, J., Tian, L., & Sabatini, B. L. (2021). Bombesin-like peptide recruits disinhibitory cortical circuits and enhances fear memories. Cell, 184(22), 5622-5634.e25.
 

Lee, S. J., Lodder, B., Chen, Y., Patriarchi, T., Tian, L., & Sabatini, B. L. (2021). Cell-type-specific asynchronous modulation of PKA by dopamine in learning. Nature, 590(7846), Article 7846.  

Copits, B. A., Gowrishankar, R., O’Neill, P. R., Li, J.-N., Girven, K. S., Yoo, J. J., Meshik, X., Parker, K. E., Spangler, S. M., Elerding, A. J., Brown, B. J., Shirley, S. E., Ma, K. K. L., Vasquez, A. M., Stander, M. C., Kalyanaraman, V., Vogt, S. K., Samineni, V. K., Patriarchi, T., … Bruchas, M. R. (2021). A photoswitchable GPCR-based opsin for presynaptic inhibition. Neuron, 109(11), 1791-1809.e11.
 

Dong, C., Ly, C., Dunlap, L. E., Vargas, M. V., Sun, J., Hwang, I.-W., Azinfar, A., Oh, W. C., Wetsel, W. C., Olson, D. E., & Tian, L. (2021). Psychedelic-inspired drug discovery using an engineered biosensor. Cell, 184(10), 2779-2792.e18.
 

Zhang, J.-F., Liu, B., Hong, I., Mo, A., Roth, R. H., Tenner, B., Lin, W., Zhang, J. Z., Molina, R. S., Drobizhev, M., Hughes, T. E., Tian, L., Huganir, R. L., Mehta, S., & Zhang, J. (2021). An ultrasensitive biosensor for high-resolution kinase activity imaging in awake mice. Nature Chemical Biology, 17(1), 39–46.
 

Unger, E. K., Keller, J. P., Altermatt, M., Liang, R., Matsui, A., Dong, C., Hon, O. J., Yao, Z., Sun, J., Banala, S., Flanigan, M. E., Jaffe, D. A., Hartanto, S., Carlen, J., Mizuno, G. O., Borden, P. M., Shivange, A. V., Cameron, L. P., Sinning, S., … Tian, L. (2020). Directed Evolution of a Selective and Sensitive Serotonin Sensor via Machine Learning. Cell, 183(7), 1986-2002.e26.  

Patriarchi, T., Mohebi, A., Sun, J., Marley, A., Liang, R., Dong, C., Puhger, K., Mizuno, G. O., Davis, C. M., Wiltgen, B., von Zastrow, M., Berke, J. D., & Tian, L. (2020). An expanded palette of dopamine sensors for multiplex imaging in vivo. Nature Methods, 17(11), Article 11.
 

Moreaux, L. C., Yatsenko, D., Sacher, W. D., Choi, J., Lee, C., Kubat, N. J., Cotton, R. J., Boyden, E. S., Lin, M. Z., Tian, L., Tolias, A. S., Poon, J. K. S., Shepard, K. L., & Roukes, M. L. (2020). Integrated Neurophotonics: Toward Dense Volumetric Interrogation of Brain Circuit Activity—at Depth and in Real Time. Neuron, 108(1), 66–92.
 

Sabatini, B. L., & Tian, L. (2020). Imaging Neurotransmitter and Neuromodulator Dynamics In Vivo with Genetically Encoded Indicators. Neuron, 108(1), 17–32.
 

Pal, A., & Tian, L. (2020). Imaging voltage and brain chemistry with genetically encoded sensors and modulators. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 57, 166–176.
 

Oe, Y., Wang, X., Patriarchi, T., Konno, A., Ozawa, K., Yahagi, K., Hirai, H., Tsuboi, T., Kitaguchi, T., Tian, L., McHugh, T. J., & Hirase, H. (2020). Distinct temporal integration of noradrenaline signaling by astrocytic second messengers during vigilance. Nature Communications, 11(1), Article 1.  

Graves, S. M., Xie, Z., Stout, K. A., Zampese, E., Burbulla, L. F., Shih, J. C., Kondapalli, J., Patriarchi, T., Tian, L., Brichta, L., Greengard, P., Krainc, D., Schumacker, P. T., & Surmeier, D. J. (2020). Dopamine metabolism by a monoamine oxidase mitochondrial shuttle activates the electron transport chain. Nature Neuroscience, 23(1), Article 1.
 

Patriarchi, T., Cho, J. R., Merten, K., Marley, A., Broussard, G. J., Liang, R., Williams, J., Nimmerjahn, A., von Zastrow, M., Gradinaru, V., & Tian, L. (2019). Imaging neuromodulators with high spatiotemporal resolution using genetically encoded indicators. Nature Protocols, 14(12), Article 12.
 

Andreoni, A., Davis, C. M. O., & Tian, L. (2019). Measuring brain chemistry using genetically encoded fluorescent sensors. Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering, 12, 59–67.
 

Robinson, J. E., Coughlin, G. M., Hori, A. M., Cho, J. R., Mackey, E. D., Turan, Z., Patriarchi, T., Tian, L., & Gradinaru, V. (2019). Optical dopamine monitoring with dLight1 reveals mesolimbic phenotypes in a mouse model of neurofibromatosis type 1. eLife, 8, e48983.
 

Augustine, V., Ebisu, H., Zhao, Y., Lee, S., Ho, B., Mizuno, G. O., Tian, L., & Oka, Y. (2019). Temporally and Spatially Distinct Thirst Satiation Signals. Neuron, 103(2), 242-249.e4.
 

Mohebi, A., Pettibone, J. R., Hamid, A. A., Wong, J.-M. T., Vinson, L. T., Patriarchi, T., Tian, L., Kennedy, R. T., & Berke, J. D. (2019). Dissociable dopamine dynamics for learning and motivation. Nature, 570(7759), 65–70.
 

Andreoni, A., & Tian, L. (2019). Maps of neuronal activity across the mouse brain. Nature Biomedical Engineering, 3(5), Article 5.
 

Mizuno, G. O., Unger, E. K., & Tian, L. (2019). Real time monitoring of neuromodulators in behaving animals using genetically encoded indicators. In Compendium of In Vivo Monitoring in Real-Time Molecular Neuroscience (pp. 1–18). WORLD SCIENTIFIC.
 

Bera, K., Kamajaya, A., Shivange, A. V., Muthusamy, A. K., Nichols, A. L., Borden, P. M., Grant, S., Jeon, J., Lin, E., Bishara, I., Chin, T. M., Cohen, B. N., Kim, C. H., Unger, E. K., Tian, L., Marvin, J. S., Looger, L. L., & Lester, H. A. (2019). Biosensors Show the Pharmacokinetics of S-Ketamine in the Endoplasmic Reticulum. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 13.
 

Jong, J. W. de, Afjei, S. A., Dorocic, I. P., Peck, J. R., Liu, C., Kim, C. K., Tian, L., Deisseroth, K., & Lammel, S. (2019). A Neural Circuit Mechanism for Encoding Aversive Stimuli in the Mesolimbic Dopamine System. Neuron, 101(1), 133-151.e7.
 

Corre, J., van Zessen, R., Loureiro, M., Patriarchi, T., Tian, L., Pascoli, V., & Lüscher, C. Dopamine neurons projecting to medial shell of the nucleus accumbens drive heroin reinforcement. (2018). eLife, 7, e39945.
 

Broussard, G. J., Liang, Y., Fridman, M., Unger, E. K., Meng, G., Xiao, X., Ji, N., Petreanu, L., & Tian, L. (2018). In vivo measurement of afferent activity with axon-specific calcium imaging. Nature Neuroscience, 21(9), Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0211-4
 

Scheerer, P., Unger, E., & Tian, L. (2018). Protein structures guide the design of a much-needed tool for neuroscience. Nature, 561(7723), 312–313.
 

Mizuno, G. O., Wang, Y., Shi, G., Wang, Y., Sun, J., Papadopoulos, S., Broussard, G. J., Unger, E. K., Deng, W., Weick, J., Bhattacharyya, A., Chen, C.-Y., Yu, G., Looger, L. L., & Tian, L. (2018). Aberrant Calcium Signaling in Astrocytes Inhibits Neuronal Excitability in a Human Down Syndrome Stem Cell Model. Cell Reports, 24(2), 355–365.
 

Patriarchi, T., Cho, J. R., Merten, K., Howe, M. W., Marley, A., Xiong, W.-H., Folk, R. W., Broussard, G. J., Liang, R., Jang, M. J., Zhong, H., Dombeck, D., Von Zastrow, M., Nimmerjahn, A., Gradinaru, V., Williams, J. T., & Tian, L. (2018). Ultrafast neuronal imaging of dopamine dynamics with designed genetically encoded sensors. Science, 360(6396), eaat4422.  

Patriarchi, T., Shen, A., He, W., Baikoghli, M., Cheng, R. H., Xiang, Y. K., Coleman, M. A., & Tian, L. (2018). Nanodelivery of a functional membrane receptor to manipulate cellular phenotype. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Article 1.
 

Broussard, G. J., Unger, E. K., Liang, R., McGrew, B. P., & Tian, L. (2018). Imaging Glutamate with Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Sensors. In S. Parrot & L. Denoroy (Eds.), Biochemical Approaches for Glutamatergic Neurotransmission (Vol. 130, pp. 117–153). Springer New York.
 

Carney, R. P., Thillier, Y., Kiss, Z., Sahabi, A., Heleno Campos, J. C., Knudson, A., Liu, R., Olivos, D., Saunders, M., Tian, L., & Lam, K. S. (2017). Combinatorial Library Screening with Liposomes for Discovery of Membrane Active Peptides. ACS Combinatorial Science, 19(5), 299–307.
 

Wang, Y., Shi, G., Miller, D. J., Wang, Y., Wang, C., Broussard, G., Wang, Y., Tian, L., & Yu, G. (2017). Automated Functional Analysis of Astrocytes from Chronic Time-Lapse Calcium Imaging Data. Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, 11.
 

Yao, K., Qiu, S., Tian, L., Snider, W. D., Flannery, J. G., Schaffer, D. V., & Chen, B. (2016). Wnt Regulates Proliferation and Neurogenic Potential of Müller Glial Cells via a Lin28/let-7 miRNA-Dependent Pathway in Adult Mammalian Retinas. Cell Reports, 17(1), 165–178.
 

Gao, Y., Broussard, J., Haque, A., Revzin, A., & Lin, T. (2016). Functional imaging of neuron–astrocyte interactions in a compartmentalized microfluidic device. Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 2(1), Article 1.