Elyssa Margolis, PhD

Title(s)Professor, Neurology
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address675 Nelson Rising Lane, #414B
San Francisco CA 94158
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0001-8777-302X Additional info
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    Other Positions
    Title(s)UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences


    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse education and training
    University of California, San Francisco Postdoctoral StudiesGraduate Division
    University of California, San FranciscoPh.D.2003 Graduate Division (Bioengineering)

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse overview
    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/

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse research activities and funding
    Resolving differences between clinical opioids at single neurons
    NIH R21DA051208Mar 1, 2021 - Feb 28, 2023
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Understanding endogenous opioid drive of alcohol consumption
    NIH R01AA026609Sep 10, 2018 - Jun 30, 2023
    Role: Principal Investigator
    The role of the VTA-lateral habenula circuit in opioid mediated behaviors
    NIH R01DA042025Sep 1, 2017 - Jun 30, 2022
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Heterogeneity of Ventral Tegmental Area Neurons and Opioid Reward
    NIH R01DA030529Jan 1, 2011 - May 31, 2016
    Role: Principal Investigator

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse selected publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
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    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Structure-guided design of partial agonists at an opioid receptor. Nat Commun. 2025 Mar 13; 16(1):2518. Varga BR, Bernhard SM, El Daibani A, Zaidi SA, Lam JH, Aguilar J, Appourchaux K, Nazarova AL, Kouvelis A, Shinouchi R, Hammond HR, Eans SO, Weinreb V, Margolis EB, Fay JF, Huang XP, Pradhan A, Katritch V, McLaughlin JP, Majumdar S, Che T. PMID: 40082451; PMCID: PMC11906898.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    2. Chronic hyperactivation of midbrain dopamine neurons causes preferential dopamine neuron degeneration. bioRxiv. 2025 Mar 04. Rademacher K, Doric Z, Haddad D, Mamaligas A, Liao SC, Creed RB, Kano K, Chatterton Z, Fu Y, Garcia JH, Vance V, Sei Y, Kreitzer A, Halliday GM, Nelson AB, Margolis EB, Nakamura K. PMID: 38645054; PMCID: PMC11030348.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    3. Ketamine and Major Ketamine Metabolites Function as Allosteric Modulators of Opioid Receptors. Mol Pharmacol. 2024 Oct 17; 106(5):240-252. Gomes I, Gupta A, Margolis EB, Fricker LD, Devi LA. PMID: 39187388; PMCID: PMC11493337.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    4. CHCHD2 mutant mice display mitochondrial protein accumulation and disrupted energy metabolism. bioRxiv. 2024 Aug 31. Liao SC, Kano K, Phanse S, Nguyen M, Margolis E, Fu Y, Meng J, Moutaoufik MT, Chatterton Z, Aoki H, Simms J, Hsieh I, Suteja F, Sei Y, Huang EJ, McAvoy K, Manfredi G, Halliday G, Babu M, Nakamura K. PMID: 39257750; PMCID: PMC11384018.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    5. Structure-Guided Design of Partial Agonists at an Opioid Receptor. Res Sq. 2024 Jul 16. Che T, Varga B, Bernhard SM, El Daibani A, Zaidi S, Lam J, Aguilar J, Appourchaux K, Nazarova A, Kouvelis A, Eans S, Margolis E, Fay J, Pradhan A, Katritch V, McLaughlin J, Majumdar S. PMID: 39070616; PMCID: PMC11276012.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    6. The life and times of endogenous opioid peptides: Updated understanding of synthesis, spatiotemporal dynamics, and the clinical impact in alcohol use disorder. Neuropharmacology. 2023 03 01; 225:109376. Margolis EB, Moulton MG, Lambeth PS, O'Meara MJ. PMID: 36516892; PMCID: PMC10548835.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    7. A diencephalic circuit in rats for opioid analgesia but not positive reinforcement. Nat Commun. 2022 02 09; 13(1):764. Waung MW, Maanum KA, Cirino TJ, Driscoll JR, O'Brien C, Bryant S, Mansourian KA, Morales M, Barker DJ, Margolis EB. PMID: 35140231; PMCID: PMC8828762.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    8. A Novel Mitragynine Analog with Low-Efficacy Mu Opioid Receptor Agonism Displays Antinociception with Attenuated Adverse Effects. J Med Chem. 2021 09 23; 64(18):13873-13892. 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, Margolis EB, Roth BL, McLaughlin JP, Che T, Sames D, Javitch JA, Majumdar S. PMID: 34505767; PMCID: PMC8530377.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 23     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    9. Ventral tegmental area GABA, glutamate, and glutamate-GABA neurons are heterogeneous in their electrophysiological and pharmacological properties. Eur J Neurosci. 2021 Feb 22. Miranda-Barrientos J, Chambers I, Mongia S, Liu B, Wang HL, Mateo-Semidey GE, Margolis EB, Zhang S, Morales M. PMID: 33619763; PMCID: PMC8380271.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 15  
    10. Differential effects of novel kappa opioid receptor antagonists on dopamine neurons using acute brain slice electrophysiology. PLoS One. 2020; 15(12):e0232864. Margolis EB, Wallace TL, Van Orden LJ, Martin WJ. PMID: 33373369; PMCID: PMC7771853.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    11. Differential Modulation of Ventral Tegmental Area Circuits by the Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ System. eNeuro. 2020 Jul/Aug; 7(5). Driscoll JR, Wallace TL, Mansourian KA, Martin WJ, Margolis EB. PMID: 32747458; PMCID: PMC7840174.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 9     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    12. Five Decades of Research on Opioid Peptides: Current Knowledge and Unanswered Questions. Mol Pharmacol. 2020 08; 98(2):96-108. Fricker LD, Margolis EB, Gomes I, Devi LA. PMID: 32487735; PMCID: PMC7330675.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 62     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    13. Biased signaling by endogenous opioid peptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 05 26; 117(21):11820-11828. Gomes I, Sierra S, Lueptow L, Gupta A, Gouty S, Margolis EB, Cox BM, Devi LA. PMID: 32393639; PMCID: PMC7261131.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 64     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    14. A Midbrain Circuit that Mediates Headache Aversiveness in Rats. Cell Rep. 2019 09 10; 28(11):2739-2747.e4. Waung MW, Margolis EB, Charbit AR, Fields HL. PMID: 31509737; PMCID: PMC6831085.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    15. Dopaminergic cellular and circuit contributions to kappa opioid receptor mediated aversion. Neurochem Int. 2019 10; 129:104504. Margolis EB, Karkhanis AN. PMID: 31301327; PMCID: PMC6702044.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 27     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    16. Relative contributions and mapping of ventral tegmental area dopamine and GABA neurons by projection target in the rat. J Comp Neurol. 2019 04 01; 527(5):916-941. Breton JM, Charbit AR, Snyder BJ, Fong PTK, Dias EV, Himmels P, Lock H, Margolis EB. PMID: 30393861; PMCID: PMC6347508.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 48     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    17. Dopamine neurons create Pavlovian conditioned stimuli with circuit-defined motivational properties. Nat Neurosci. 2018 08; 21(8):1072-1083. Saunders BT, Richard JM, Margolis EB, Janak PH. PMID: 30038277; PMCID: PMC6082399.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 167     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    18. Two delta opioid receptor subtypes are functional in single ventral tegmental area neurons, and can interact with the mu opioid receptor. Neuropharmacology. 2017 Sep 01; 123:420-432. Margolis EB, Fujita W, Devi LA, Fields HL. PMID: 28645621; PMCID: PMC5563499.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 18     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    19. Ventral tegmental area: cellular heterogeneity, connectivity and behaviour. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2017 02; 18(2):73-85. Morales M, Margolis EB. PMID: 28053327.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 470     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    20. Voluntary adolescent drinking enhances excitation by low levels of alcohol in a subset of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area. Neuropharmacology. 2016 11; 110(Pt A):386-395. Avegno EM, Salling MC, Borgkvist A, Mrejeru A, Whitebirch AC, Margolis EB, Sulzer D, Harrison NL. PMID: 27475082; PMCID: PMC5563459.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    21. Mu Opioid Receptor Actions in the Lateral Habenula. PLoS One. 2016; 11(7):e0159097. Margolis EB, Fields HL. PMID: 27427945; PMCID: PMC4948872.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 33     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    22. Identification of GPR83 as the receptor for the neuroendocrine peptide PEN. Sci Signal. 2016 04 26; 9(425):ra43. 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. PMID: 27117253; PMCID: PMC5147544.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 45     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    23. Understanding opioid reward. Trends Neurosci. 2015 Apr; 38(4):217-25. Fields HL, Margolis EB. PMID: 25637939; PMCID: PMC4385443.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 166     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    24. Direct bidirectional μ-opioid control of midbrain dopamine neurons. J Neurosci. 2014 Oct 29; 34(44):14707-16. Margolis EB, Hjelmstad GO, Fujita W, Fields HL. PMID: 25355223; PMCID: PMC4212068.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 53     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    25. Loss of mitochondrial fission depletes axonal mitochondria in midbrain dopamine neurons. J Neurosci. 2014 Oct 22; 34(43):14304-17. Berthet A, Margolis EB, Zhang J, Hsieh I, Zhang J, Hnasko TS, Ahmad J, Edwards RH, Sesaki H, Huang EJ, Nakamura K. PMID: 25339743; PMCID: PMC4205554.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 103     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    26. New insights into the specificity and plasticity of reward and aversion encoding in the mesolimbic system. J Neurosci. 2013 Nov 06; 33(45):17569-76. Volman SF, Lammel S, Margolis EB, Kim Y, Richard JM, Roitman MF, Lobo MK. PMID: 24198347; PMCID: PMC3818538.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 84     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    27. 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. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2014 Jan; 38(1):195-203. Mitchell JM, Margolis EB, Coker AR, Allen DC, Fields HL. PMID: 24033469.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 15     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    28. Opioid modulation of ventral pallidal afferents to ventral tegmental area neurons. J Neurosci. 2013 Apr 10; 33(15):6454-9. Hjelmstad GO, Xia Y, Margolis EB, Fields HL. PMID: 23575843; PMCID: PMC3865539.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 58     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    29. Identification of rat ventral tegmental area GABAergic neurons. PLoS One. 2012; 7(7):e42365. Margolis EB, Toy B, Himmels P, Morales M, Fields HL. PMID: 22860119; PMCID: PMC3409171.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 92     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    30. Alcohol self-administration, anxiety, and cortisol levels predict changes in delta opioid receptor function in the ventral tegmental area. Behav Neurosci. 2012 Aug; 126(4):515-22. Mitchell JM, Margolis EB, Coker AR, Fields HL. PMID: 22708955; PMCID: PMC3669671.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    31. A novel opioid receptor-mediated enhancement of GABAA receptor function induced by stress in ventral tegmental area neurons. J Physiol. 2011 Sep 01; 589(17):4229-42. Margolis EB, Mitchell JM, Hjelmstad GO, Fields HL. PMID: 21690191; PMCID: PMC3180580.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 17     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    32. Nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons target non-dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area. J Neurosci. 2011 May 25; 31(21):7811-6. Xia Y, Driscoll JR, Wilbrecht L, Margolis EB, Fields HL, Hjelmstad GO. PMID: 21613494; PMCID: PMC6633124.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 100     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    33. Reliability in the identification of midbrain dopamine neurons. PLoS One. 2010 Dec 09; 5(12):e15222. Margolis EB, Coker AR, Driscoll JR, Lemaître AI, Fields HL. PMID: 21151605; PMCID: PMC3000317.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 38     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    34. Substance P inhibits GABAB receptor signalling in the ventral tegmental area. J Physiol. 2010 May 01; 588(Pt 9):1541-9. Xia YF, Margolis EB, Hjelmstad GO. PMID: 20231139; PMCID: PMC2876808.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    35. Glutamatergic and nonglutamatergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area establish local synaptic contacts with dopaminergic and nondopaminergic neurons. J Neurosci. 2010 Jan 06; 30(1):218-29. Dobi A, Margolis EB, Wang HL, Harvey BK, Morales M. PMID: 20053904; PMCID: PMC3209506.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 103     Fields:    
    36. Delta-opioid receptor expression in the ventral tegmental area protects against elevated alcohol consumption. J Neurosci. 2008 Nov 26; 28(48):12672-81. Margolis EB, Fields HL, Hjelmstad GO, Mitchell JM. PMID: 19036960; PMCID: PMC6671807.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 53     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    37. Midbrain dopamine neurons: projection target determines action potential duration and dopamine D(2) receptor inhibition. J Neurosci. 2008 Sep 03; 28(36):8908-13. Margolis EB, Mitchell JM, Ishikawa J, Hjelmstad GO, Fields HL. PMID: 18768684; PMCID: PMC6670880.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 106     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    38. Ventral tegmental area neurons in learned appetitive behavior and positive reinforcement. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2007; 30:289-316. Fields HL, Hjelmstad GO, Margolis EB, Nicola SM. PMID: 17376009.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 221     Fields:    
    39. The ventral tegmental area revisited: is there an electrophysiological marker for dopaminergic neurons? J Physiol. 2006 Dec 15; 577(Pt 3):907-24. Margolis EB, Lock H, Hjelmstad GO, Fields HL. PMID: 16959856; PMCID: PMC1890372.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 217     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    40. Kappa opioids selectively control dopaminergic neurons projecting to the prefrontal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Feb 21; 103(8):2938-42. Margolis EB, Lock H, Chefer VI, Shippenberg TS, Hjelmstad GO, Fields HL. PMID: 16477003; PMCID: PMC1413839.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 150     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    41. Both kappa and mu opioid agonists inhibit glutamatergic input to ventral tegmental area neurons. J Neurophysiol. 2005 Jun; 93(6):3086-93. Margolis EB, Hjelmstad GO, Bonci A, Fields HL. PMID: 15615834.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 37     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    42. Kappa-opioid agonists directly inhibit midbrain dopaminergic neurons. J Neurosci. 2003 Nov 05; 23(31):9981-6. Margolis EB, Hjelmstad GO, Bonci A, Fields HL. PMID: 14602811; PMCID: PMC6740851.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 113     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
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