In order for organisms to survive, they need to detect rewarding stimuli, for example, food or
a mate, in a complex environment with many competing stimuli. These rewarding stimuli …

Stimuli associated with high rewards evoke stronger neuronal activity than stimuli
associated with lower rewards in many brain regions. It is not well understood how these …

Highlights•Associative reward learning biases attention in favor of reward-predictive
stimuli.•Reward-evoked dopamine release gives rise to plasticity in the visual system.•Such …

Attention to task-relevant features leads to a biasing of sensory selection in extrastriate
cortex. Features signaling reward seem to produce a similar bias, but how modulatory …

The ability to rapidly choose among multiple valuable targets embedded in a complex
perceptual environment is key to survival in many animal species. Targets may differ both in …

Reward-related mesolimbic dopamine steers animal behavior, creating automatic approach
toward reward-associated objects and avoidance of objects unlikely to be beneficial …

The primary visual cortex (area V1) is for vision. At least, that is what most researchers
believe. However, in a recent issue of Science, Shuler and Bear demonstrate a correlate of …

The potential for neuronal representations of external stimuli to be modified by previous
experience is critical for efficient sensory processing and improved behavioral outcomes. To …

Neurons in the lateral intraparietal (LIP) area of macaque monkey parietal cortex respond to
cues predicting rewards and penalties of variable size in a manner that depends on the …

The representation of value is a critical component of decision making. Rational choice
theory assumes that options are assigned absolute values, independent of the value or …