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Dr Philip Jean-Richard Dit Bressel

Dr Philip Jean-Richard Dit Bressel

Lecturer

2015 PhD, ʹڲƱ Sydney

Science
School of Psychology

I am a behavioural neuroscientist and experimental psychologist at ʹڲƱ School of Psychology. I recevied my PhD from ʹڲƱ School of Psychology in 2015.

My research seeks to understand the psychology and neurobiology of motivated learning, decision-making, and behaviour. I am particularly interested in how we learn and make decisions about actions with negative consequences ("punishment learning").
E-mail
p.jean-richardditbressel@unsw.edu.au
Location
Room 706, Mathews Building School of Psychology ʹڲƱ Sydney
  • Journal articles | 2025
    Keevers LJ; Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P, 2025, 'Obtaining artifact-corrected signals in fiber photometry via isosbestic signals, robust regression, and dF/F calculations.', Neurophotonics, 12, pp. 025003,
    Journal articles | 2024
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Gaetani K; Zeng L; Weidemann G; McNally GP, 2024, 'Translational Research in Punishment Learning', Behavioral Neuroscience, 138, pp. 143 - 151,
    Journal articles | 2024
    Mcnally GP; Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P, 2024, 'A Cognitive Pathway to Persistent, Maladaptive Choice', European Addiction Research, 30, pp. 233 - 242,
    Journal articles | 2024
    Rafiei N; Mitchell CS; Tedesco CR; Chen J; Choi EA; Roughley S; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Kumar NN; McNally GP; Herzog H; Begg DP, 2024, 'Chemogenetic activation ofarcuate nucleus NPY and NPY/AgRP neurons increases feeding behaviour in mice', Neuropeptides, 107,
    Journal articles | 2023
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Lee JC; Liew SX; Weidemann G; Lovibond PF; McNally GP, 2023, 'A cognitive pathway to punishment insensitivity', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120, pp. e2221634120,
    Journal articles | 2023
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; McNally GP, 2023, 'Reply to Jarvis and Chong: Understanding punishment insensitivity phenotypes using computational modelling', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120,
    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,
    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,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Ghareh H; Alonso-Lozares I; Schetters D; Herman RJ; Heistek TS; Van Mourik Y; Jean-Richard-dit-bressel P; Zernig G; Mansvelder HD; De Vries TJ; Marchant NJ, 2022, 'Role of anterior insula cortex in context-induced relapse of nicotine-seeking', eLife, 11, pp. e75609,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Jean Richard dit Bressel P; McNally GP, 2022, 'Punishment and compulsion: more than meets the eye', Neuropsychopharmacology, 47, pp. 425 - 426,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Tran J; Didachos A; McNally GP, 2022, 'Instrumental aversion coding in the basolateral amygdala and its reversion by a benzodiazepine', Neuropsychopharmacology, 47, pp. 1199 - 1209,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Lee J; Liew SX; Weidemann G; Lovibond P; McNally G, 2021, 'Punishment insensitivity in humans is due to failures in instrumental contingency learning', ,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Jean-Richard-dit-bressel P; Lee JC; Liew SX; Weidemann G; Lovibond PF; McNally GP, 2021, 'Punishment insensitivity in humans is due to failures in instrumental contingency learning', eLife, 10, pp. e69594,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Peng CY; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Gilchrist S; Power JM; McNally GP, 2021, 'Phasic inhibition of dopamine neurons is an instrumental punisher.', Behavioral Neuroscience, 135, pp. 415 - 425,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Clifford CWG; McNally GP, 2020, 'Analyzing Event-Related Transients: Confidence Intervals, Permutation Tests, and Consecutive Thresholds', Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 13, pp. 14,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Ma C; Bradfield L; Killcross S; McNally G, 2020, 'Punishment insensitivity emerges from impaired contingency detection, not aversion insensitivity or reward dominance', eLife,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Liu Y; Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P; Yau JOY; Willing A; Prasad AA; Power JM; Killcross S; Clifford CWG; McNally GP, 2020, 'The mesolimbic dopamine activity signatures of relapse to alcohol-seeking', Journal of Neuroscience, 40, pp. 6409 - 6427,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Ma C; Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P; Roughley S; Vissel B; Balleine BW; Killcross S; Bradfield LA, 2020, 'Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex Regulates Instrumental Conditioned Punishment, but not Pavlovian Conditioned Fear.', Cereb Cortex Commun, 1, pp. tgaa039,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Ma C; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Roughley S; Vissel B; Balleine B; Killcross S; Bradfield L, 2020, 'Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex Regulates Instrumental Conditioned Punishment, but not Pavlovian Conditioned Fear', ,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Choi EA; Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P; Clifford C; Mcnally G, 2019, 'Paraventricular thalamus controls behavior during motivational conflict', IBRO Reports, 6, pp. S68 - S68,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Choi EA; Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P; Clifford CWG; McNally GP, 2019, 'Paraventricular thalamus controls behavior during motivational conflict', Journal of Neuroscience, 39, pp. 4945 - 4958,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Ma C; Bradfield LA; Killcross S; McNally GP, 2019, 'Punishment insensitivity emerges from impaired contingency detection, not aversion insensitivity or reward dominance', eLife, 8, pp. e52765,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; McNally GP, 2019, 'Visualizing Infralimbic Control over Incubation of Cocaine Craving', Neuron, 103, pp. 1 - 3,
    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,
    Journal articles | 2018
    Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P; Killcross S; McNally GP, 2018, 'Behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of punishment: Implications for psychiatric disorders', Neuropsychopharmacology, 43, pp. 1639 - 1650,
    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,
    Journal articles | 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', ,
    Journal articles | 2016
    Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P; McNally GP, 2016, 'Lateral, not medial, prefrontal cortex contributes to punishment and aversive instrumental learning', Learning and Memory, 23, pp. 607 - 617,
    Journal articles | 2015
    Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P; McNally GP, 2015, 'The role of the basolateral amygdala in punishment', Learning and Memory, 22, pp. 128 - 137,
    Journal articles | 2014
    Bressel PJRD; McNally GP; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P, 2014, 'The role of the lateral habenula in punishment', PLoS ONE, 9, pp. e111699,
  • Preprints | 2025
    Gaetani K; McNally GP; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P, 2025, Early contingency information enhances human punishment sensitivity when punishment is frequent but not rare,
    Preprints | 2025
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Zeng L; Park H; McNally GP, 2025, Causal inference deficits and integration failure drive stable variation in human punishment sensitivity,
    Preprints | 2024
    Keevers L; McNally G; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P, 2024, Obtaining artifact-corrected signals in fiber photometry: Isosbestic signals, robust regression and dF/F calculations,
    Preprints | 2023
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Gaetani K; Zeng LZ; Weidemann G; McNally G, 2023, Translational research in punishment learning,
    Preprints | 2023
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Lee J; Liew SX; Weidemann G; Lovibond P; McNally G, 2023, A cognitive pathway to punishment insensitivity,
    Preprints | 2023
    Keevers LJ; McNally GP; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P, 2023, Obtaining artifact-corrected signals in fiber photometry: Isosbestic signals, robust regression and dF/F calculations,
    Preprints | 2023
    McNally G; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P, 2023, A cognitive pathway to persistent, maladaptive choice,
    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,
    Preprints | 2021
    Ghareh H; Alonso-Lozares I; Schetters D; Herman R; Heistek T; van Mourik Y; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Zernig G; Mansvelder H; de Vries T; Marchant N, 2021, Role of anterior insula cortex in context-induced relapse of nicotine-seeking,
    Preprints | 2021
    Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Tran J; Didachos A; McNally G, 2021, Instrumental aversion coding in the basolateral amygdala and its reversion by a benzodiazepine,
    Preprints | 2020
    Liu Y; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Yau JO-Y; Willing A; Prasad A; Power J; Killcross S; Clifford CWG; McNally G, 2020, The mesolimbic dopamine signatures of relapse to alcohol-seeking,
    Preprints | 2020
    Peng CY; Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P; Gilchrist S; Power J; McNally G, 2020, Phasic inhibition of dopamine neurons is an instrumental punisher,

Australian Research Council

Discovery Project (2022-2024). “Brain circuits for parsing aversion” [Lead investigator, AU$340,023]

2025 D. G. Marquis Behavioral Neuroscience Award, American Psychological Association

2024 Best Paper Award - General Category, Biological Psychiatry Australia

2023 Millennium Science Fellowship:"Identifying transcriptomic signatures of adaptive versus maladaptive learning about adverse action consequences”

2023 Translation Launchpad Program, ʹڲƱ Sydney

2022 Early Career Achievement Award, International Behavioral Neuroscience Society

2022 D. G. Marquis Behavioral Neuroscience Award, American Psychological Association

2015 The Paxinos Neuroscience Prize, ʹڲƱ Sydney

2011 Istvan Tork Neuroscience Prize, ʹڲƱ Sydney

Editorial Board:Journal of Neuroscience; Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Faculty, (ACAN), Australasian Neuroscience Society

Guest Editor, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Media

(2024).Nesh Nikolic,Better Thinking Podcast

(2023). ABC | Future Tense

(2023). Antony Funnell, ABC | Future Tense

Research sheds new light on self-destructive behaviour(2023). Lachlan Gilbert, ʹڲƱ Newsroom

(2021).Education Today

Why punishment may work on some, but not all people(2021).Lachlan Gilbert, ʹڲƱ Newsroom

(2020).TDT Talks | Fiber Photometry Series,Tucker-DavisTechnologies

My Research Supervision

PhD:

Bixuan Lin

Luke Keevers

Min Lou