VTA dopamine neuron activity produces spatially organized value representations.

ABSTRACT: How does the activity of midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons reinforce actions? A prominent hypothesis is that the activity of ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons instructs representations of predicted reward, or value, in downstream neurons¹. To directly test this model, we performed comprehensive striatal recordings in mice engaged in a trial-and-error probabilistic learning task where they continuously adapted their choices to obtain a reward of optogenetic stimulation of VTA DA neurons (paired with an auditory cue). We then assessed neural representations of action values (estimated from a behavioral model), revealing for the first time that VTA DA stimulation is sufficient to generate downstream neural correlates of action value. Surprisingly, these value correlates were str

SUBMITTER: Pan-Vazquez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12637434 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature