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Ms Zayra Millan

Ms Zayra Millan

Lecturer

Bachelor of Psychology (1st Class Honours)

Masters of Psychology (Clinical)

PhD (Behavioural Neuroscience)

 

Science
School of Psychology

My research aims to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the regulation of alcohol consumption, motivation and decision-making. My approaches sit at the intersection of neuroscience, behaviour, cognition, and pharmacology with a broader aim of understanding the complex heterogeneity of processes that maintain maladaptive behaviours underlying alcohol use disorders.
E-mail
zayra.millan@unsw.edu.au
  • Book Chapters | 2017
    Millan EZ; Ong ZY; McNally GP, 2017, 'Paraventricular thalamus: Gateway to feeding, appetitive motivation, and drug addiction', in Progress in Brain Research, Elsevier B.V., pp. 113 - 137, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2017.07.006
  • Journal articles | 2026
    Cooley BJ; Occelli Hanbury-Brown CV; Choi EA; Heller WA; Lim AW; Lawrence AJ; Haber PS; McNally GP; Millan EZ, 2026, 'FGF21 analogue PF-05231023 on alcohol consumption and neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens', Neuropsychopharmacology, 51, pp. 519 - 529, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41386-025-02133-z
    Journal articles | 2026
    Millan EZ; McNally GP, 2026, 'Reply to Kim and Jeong: Namesake of PF-05231023: how nomenclature confusion leads to experimental misinterpretation in pharmacologic research', Neuropsychopharmacology, 51, pp. 532, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41386-025-02240-x
    Journal articles | 2024
    Zayra Millan E; McNally GP, 2024, 'Reprioritizing motivations in addiction', Science, 384, pp. 271, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.ado9989
    Journal articles | 2023
    Dali G; Logge W; Riordan B; Conner TS; Manning V; Millan EZ; McNally GP; Haber PS; Morley KC, 2023, 'The role of impulsivity in the relationship between affect and alcohol consumption in young adults', Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research, 47, pp. 2161 - 2168, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/acer.15192
    Journal articles | 2023
    McNally GP; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Millan EZ; Lawrence AJ, 2023, 'Pathways to the persistence of drug use despite its adverse consequences', Molecular Psychiatry, 28, pp. 2228 - 2237, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02040-z
    Journal articles | 2022
    Choi EA; Husić M; Millan EZ; Gilchrist S; Power JM; dit Bressel PJR; McNally GP; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P, 2022, 'A Corticothalamic Circuit Trades off Speed for Safety during Decision-Making under Motivational Conflict', Journal of Neuroscience, 42, pp. 3473 - 3483, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0088-22.2022
    Journal articles | 2022
    Maddern XJ; Walker LC; Campbell EJ; Arunogiri S; Haber PS; Morley K; Manning V; Millan EZ; McNally GP; Lubman DI; Lawrence AJ, 2022, 'Can we enhance the clinical efficacy of cognitive and psychological approaches to treat substance use disorders through understanding their neurobiological mechanisms?', Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 142, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104899
    Journal articles | 2019
    Gibson GD; Millan EZ; McNally GP, 2019, 'The nucleus accumbens shell in reinstatement and extinction of drug seeking', European Journal of Neuroscience, 50, pp. 2014 - 2022, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ejn.14084
    Journal articles | 2018
    Gibson GD; Prasad AA; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Yau JOY; Millan EZ; Liu Y; Campbell EJ; Lim J; Marchant NJ; Power JM; Killcross S; Lawrence AJ; McNally GP, 2018, 'Distinct Accumbens Shell Output Pathways Promote versus Prevent Relapse to Alcohol Seeking', Neuron, 98, pp. 512 - 520.e6, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.03.033
    Journal articles | 2018
    Sengupta A; Yau JOY; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Liu Y; Millan EZ; Power JM; McNally GP, 2018, 'Basolateral amygdala neurons maintain aversive emotional salience', Journal of Neuroscience, 38, pp. 3001 - 3012, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2460-17.2017
    Journal articles | 2017
    Millan EZ; Kim HA; Janak PH, 2017, 'Optogenetic activation of amygdala projections to nucleus accumbens can arrest conditioned and unconditioned alcohol consummatory behavior', Neuroscience, 360, pp. 106 - 117, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.07.044
    Journal articles | 2015
    Millan EZ; Reese RM; Grossman CD; Chaudhri N; Janak PH, 2015, 'Nucleus Accumbens and Posterior Amygdala Mediate Cue-Triggered Alcohol Seeking and Suppress Behavior during the Omission of Alcohol-Predictive Cues', Neuropsychopharmacology, 40, pp. 2555 - 2565, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.102
    Journal articles | 2015
    Pomrenze MB; Millan EZ; Hopf FW; Keiflin R; Maiya R; Blasio A; Dadgar J; Kharazia V; De Guglielmo G; Crawford E; Janak PH; George O; Rice KC; Messing RO, 2015, 'A transgenic rat for investigating the anatomy and function of corticotrophin releasing factor circuits', Frontiers in Neuroscience, 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2015.00487
    Journal articles | 2012
    Marchant NJ; Millan ZE; Mcnally GP, 2012, 'The hypothalamus and the neurobiology of drug seeking', CMLS - Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 69, pp. 581 - 597, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00018-011-0817-0
    Journal articles | 2012
    Millan ZE; McNally GP, 2012, 'Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript in the nucleus accumbens shell attenuates context-induced reinstatement of alcohol seeking.', Behavioral Neuroscience, 126, pp. 690 - 698, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0029953
    Journal articles | 2011
    McGinty VB; Hayden BY; Heilbronner SR; Dumont EC; Graves SM; Mirrione MM; Du Hoffmann J; Sartor GC; Espana RA; Millan EZ; Difeliceantonio AG; Marchant MJ; Napier TC; Root DH; Borgland SL; Treadway MT; Floresco SB; McGinty JF; Haber SN, 2011, 'Emerging, reemerging, and forgotten brain areas of the reward circuit: Notes from the 2010 Motivational Neural Networks conference', Behavioural Brain Research, 225, pp. 348 - 357, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2011.07.036
    Journal articles | 2011
    Millan EZ; Marchant N; McNally GP, 2011, 'Extinction of drug and reward seeking', Behavioural Brain Research, 217, pp. 454 - 462
    Journal articles | 2011
    Millan EZ; Mcnally GP, 2011, 'Accumbens shell AMPA receptors mediate expression of extinguished reward seeking through interactions with basolateral amygdala', Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 18, pp. 414 - 421, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/lm.2144411
  • Preprints | 2024
    Cooley BJ; Hanbury-Brown CVO; Choi EA; Heller WA; Lim AW; Lawrence AJ; Haber PS; McNally GP; Millan EZ, 2024, FGF21 Analogue PF-05231023 on Alcohol Consumption and Neuronal Activity in the Nucleus Accumbens, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.22.629996
    Preprints | 2021
    Choi E; Husić M; Millan Z; Jean Richard dit Bressel P; McNally G, 2021, A corticothalamic circuit trades off speed for safety during decision-making under motivational conflict, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.21.469477
    Preprints | 2021
    Millan Z; Lim JH; Power J; McNally G, 2021, Rapid appetitive transitions are sculpted by amygdala to accumbens pathways, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.11.435530
    Preprints | 2017
    Sengupta A; Yau JOY; Bressel PJ-RD; Liu Y; Zayra Millan E; Power J; McNally G, 2017, Basolateral amygdala glutamatergic neurons maintain aversive emotional salience, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/186072
    Conference Papers | 2011
    Millan EZ; McNally GP, 2011, 'THE EFFECTS OF COCAINE-AND AMPHETAMINE-REGULATED TRANSCRIPT ON CONTEXT-INDUCED REINSTATEMENT (RENEWAL) OF REWARD SEEKING', in BEHAVIOURAL PHARMACOLOGY, LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, NETHERLANDS, Amsterdam, pp. E18 - E18, presented at 14th Biennial Meeting of the European-Behavioural-Pharmacology-Society, NETHERLANDS, Amsterdam, 26 August 2011 - 29 August 2011, https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000300365200066&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a29b250adbe88d1

Current

NHMRC Ideas - Novel pathways to abstinence from alcohol seeking - CIB - 2011633

NHMRC Synergy - Grant - Linking clinical and basic science discovery to find new treatments for alcohol use disorder - CIG - 2009851

 

Previous

Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation - Young Investigators Award - Brain Circuits Underlying the Transition from Wanting to Taking