Tachykinin 1-expressing neurons in the lateral habenula signal negative reward prediction error.

ABSTRACT: Evaluating outcomes to accurately predict which actions lead to reward is crucial for survival. Discrepancies between expected and realized outcomes, termed reward prediction errors (RPEs), serve as a teaching signal to update subsequent predictions and promote adaptive behavior. Neural correlates of RPEs have been identified in several brain regions, including the lateral habenula (LHb), which contains a subpopulation of neurons encoding negative reward prediction error (nRPE) that are excited by worse-than-expected outcomes and inhibited by better-than-expected outcomes. LHb projections to the midbrain shape firing in dopaminergic neurons and play a well-established role in reward learning and decision-making. However, the LHb engages in a wide variety of behaviors beyond reward processi

SUBMITTER: Suzuki KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12632853 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature