Role of the primate ventral tegmental area in reinforcement and motivation.

ABSTRACT: Monkey electrophysiology suggests that the activity of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) helps regulate reinforcement learning and motivated behavior, in part by broadcasting prediction error signals throughout the reward system. However, electrophysiological studies do not allow causal inferences regarding the activity of VTA neurons with respect to these processes because they require artificial manipulation of neuronal firing. Rodent studies fulfilled this requirement by demonstrating that electrical and optogenetic VTA stimulation can induce learning and modulate downstream structures. Still, the primate dopamine system has diverged significantly from that of rodents, exhibiting greatly expanded and uniquely distributed cortical and subcortical innervation patterns. Here, we bridge the

SUBMITTER: Arsenault JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4698409 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature