Dopamine supports reward prediction to constrain reward seeking.

ABSTRACT: Reward-predictive cues trigger dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core (NAc). This signal has long been thought to mediate motivation. However, understanding of dopamine function is complicated by the fact that reward cues not only motivate reward pursuit, but also enable the reward predictions that shape how reward is pursued. Thus, here we used dopamine sensor fiber photometry, cell-type and pathway-specific optogenetic inhibition, Pavlovian cue-reward conditioning, and test of cue-induced reward-pursuit strategy in male and female rats, to ask how cue-evoked phasic dopamine release supports reward pursuit. Cues that predicted imminent reward with high probability triggered a large NAc dopamine response and checking for the expected reward in the delivery location, rather than exp

SUBMITTER: Malvaez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12393573 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature