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Rachel Donka

@racheldonka.bsky.social

272 followers 114 following 7 posts

🧠PhD Postdoc in the Roitman laboratories at UIC

Rachel Donka @racheldonka.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The full publication is available at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @jamiedroitman.bsky.social @mitchroitman.bsky.social @basedownloh.bsky.social

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Rachel Donka @racheldonka.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

As new sensors are developed, we hope we and others will validate them in vivo and with multiple drugs challenges. We hope that the analyses used here will contribute to that process. 4/5

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Rachel Donka @racheldonka.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Whole session stream analysis also revealed differences. Most striking is the increase in mean absolute deviation with GCaMP6f and dLight1.3b, but decrease with GRABDA2h. Coupled with an overall increase in mean signal in GRABDA2h, the pattern potentially reflects sensor saturation. 3/5

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Rachel Donka @racheldonka.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

While all sensors detected spontaneous transients during control sessions and baseline periods, their performance diverged substantially following acute morphine treatment. Morphine increased frequency and amplitude with GCaMP6f and dLight1.3b, but decreased frequency and amplitude with GRABDA2h 2/5

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Rachel Donka @racheldonka.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

🚨New paper alert: Excited to share our journey to contrast how multiple dopamine sensors respond to acute morphine treatment. We first compared changes in dopamine transients in rats prepared with VTA DA GCaMP6f, NAcLS dLight1.3b or GRABDA2h 1/5

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Max Loh, PhD @basedownloh.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

From secretly watching her SfN talk on zoom during the pandemic to watching her crush her PhD defense, my bestie did it! Congratulations to the new Dr. @racheldonka.bsky.social ! We are all so proud of you!

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Rachel Donka @racheldonka.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I am SO grateful for you!! I couldn’t have asked for a better post doc, office mate, and bestie 🫶

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Jamie Roitman @jamiedroitman.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Photometry phriends preprint: excited to share @racheldonka.bsky.social's side quest to validate how multiple sensors of mesolimbic signaling respond to acute morphine treatment - with @mitchroitman.bsky.social and @basedownloh.bsky.social

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Jamie Roitman @jamiedroitman.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Happy Halloween from the Roitman labs! And thanks to @racheldonka.bsky.social for printing us festive, seasonal earrings!! @mitchroitman.bsky.social

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Max Loh, PhD @basedownloh.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

@ssibsociety.bsky.social banquet venue >>>>>>

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Rachel Donka @racheldonka.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Very excited to share our new paper on the effects of adolescent opioid exposure on reward sensitivity during initial morphine administration and withdrawal, as well as during and after re-exposure in adulthood! Now out in Physiology & Behavior: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 07/03/2025

TODAY IS THE DAY! 🧪☀️⬇️ Join us at the Lincoln Memorial or your local site to Stand Up for Science!

Flyer for stand up for science--more information available at www.standupforscience2025.org

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Mitch Roitman @mitchroitman.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Our VoR (doi.org/10.7554/eLif...) is out! See how phasic DA to sucrose flips and changes during acq., maintenance & ext of a conditioned taste aversion. Makes for great reading on your way to your local @standupforscience.bsky.social tomorrow!

doi.org

Dopamine activity encodes the changing valence of the same stimulus in conditioned taste aversion paradigms

Phasic dopamine cell body activity and release in the nucleus accumbens differentially respond to the taste of sucrose in correlation with its hedonic valuation.

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Reposted by Rachel Donka

Mitch Roitman @mitchroitman.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

So much fun working with @basedownloh.bsky.social, Samantha Hurh, @racheldonka.bsky.social, Paula Bazzino, @atkeinath.bsky.social and @jamiedroitman.bsky.social We also had a really positive experience with #eLife and thank @flagel-lab.bsky.social and Michael Taffe for serving as editors! 4/end

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