Dopamine is a critical modulator of both learning and motivation. This presents a problem:
how can target cells know whether increased dopamine is a signal to learn or to move? It is …

Environmental stimuli and objects, including rewards, are often processed sequentially in
the brain. Recent work suggests that the phasic dopamine reward prediction-error response …

Rewards are crucial objects that induce learning, approach behavior, choices, and
emotions. Whereas emotions are difficult to investigate in animals, the learning function is …

Reward prediction errors consist of the differences between received and predicted rewards.
They are crucial for basic forms of learning about rewards and make us strive for more …

Studies investigating the neural mechanisms by which associations between cues and
predicted outcomes control behavior often use associative learning frameworks to …

Nearly 40 years of research on the function of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has provided a
wealth of information on its contributions to behavior but has also yielded controversies and …

Midbrain dopamine neurons are well known for their strong responses to rewards and their
critical role in positive motivation. It has become increasingly clear, however, that dopamine …

Novelty and surprise play significant roles in animal behavior and in attempts to understand
the neural mechanisms underlying it. They also play important roles in technology, where …

Survival can depend on the ability to change a current course of action to respond to
potentially advantageous or threatening stimuli. This" reorienting" response involves the …

The authors present a unified account of 2 neural systems concerned with the development
and expression of adaptive behaviors: a mesencephalic dopamine system for reinforcement …