Article
Neurosciences
Kurt M. Fraser, Heather J. Pribut, Patricia H. Janak, Ronald Keiflin
Summary: Reward seeking requires coordination of motor programs. Midbrain dopamine neurons are critical for reinforcement and learning. Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons imbue actions and cues with motivational value, allowing flexible pursuit, whereas substantia nigra (SNc) dopamine neurons support precise, action-specific learning. This heterogeneous dopamine system supports unique forms of instrumental learning and reward-seeking strategies.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wouter van Elzelingen, Jessica Goedhoop, Pascal Warnaar, Damiaan Denys, Tara Arbab, Ingo Willuhn
Summary: Dopamine signals in the striatum play a critical role in motivated behavior. The release and modulation of dopamine in different regions of the striatum vary, while prediction-error signals are limited to specific regions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Lauren S. Bailey, Jared R. Bagley, James D. Wherry, Elissa J. Chesler, Anushree Karkhanis, James D. Jentsch, Lisa M. Tarantino
Summary: This study found that genetic background can influence the neuroadaptations induced by cocaine, which may contribute to understanding the biological mechanisms of cocaine addiction.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Sofia A. Lopez, Shelly B. Flagel
Summary: Learning to respond appropriately to surrounding environment is vital for survival, but individuals vary in their responses to environment cues, which may be a key determinant of psychopathology. Glucocorticoids, primarily known as stress hormones, are suggested to play a critical role in facilitating dopamine-dependent cue-reward learning relevant to various psychiatric conditions. Using animal models to capture individual differences in stimulus-reward learning and investigating glucocorticoid-dopamine interactions may lead to the discovery of novel mechanisms contributing to complex neuropsychiatric disorders.
STRESS-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON THE BIOLOGY OF STRESS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Jessica Goedhoop, Tara Arbab, Ingo Willuhn
Summary: By comparing two different experimental paradigms, this study reveals that dopamine signals contain both reward-related and action-related information. The action component of dopamine release is characterized by sustained signals, which reflect the motivation for appetitive action.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Debbie M. Yee, Jennifer L. Crawford, Bidhan Lamichhane, Todd S. Braver
Summary: This study investigated the role of human dACC in integrating motivational incentives and found that dACC modulates cognitive control based on the integrated subjective motivational value, affecting task performance.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Tara L. White, Meghan A. Gonsalves, Chloe Zimmerman, Hannah Joyce, Ronald A. Cohen, Uraina S. Clark, Lawrence H. Sweet, Carl W. Lejuez, Adam Z. Nitenson
Summary: This study introduces a concept called agentic anger, which is a negatively valenced state that motivates action to achieve risky goals. The neurobehavioral model was evaluated through two proof-of-concept studies, revealing the relationship between agentic anger, reward, and personality traits.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Carina Soares-Cunha, Vero nica Domingues, Raquel Correia, Barbara Coimbra, Natacha Vieitas-Gaspar, Nivaldo A. P. de Vasconcelos, Luisa Pinto, Nuno Sousa, Ana Joao Rodrigues
Summary: The nucleus accumbens (NAc) and its D2-MSNs play contrasting roles in motivated behaviors, with activation and inhibition of D2-MSNVP projections having different effects during reward prediction and delivery, as well as in a free-choice instrumental task.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Bowen J. Fung, Elissa Sutlief, Marshall G. Hussain Shuler
Summary: Time perception and reward processing interact through a common dopaminergic mechanism, as supported by both neurobiological and behavioral studies.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Ruud van Zessen, Jacques P. Flores-Dourojeanni, Timon Eekel, Siem van den Reijen, Bart Lodder, Azar Omrani, Marten P. Smidt, Geert M. J. Ramakers, Geoffrey van der Plasse, Garret D. Stuber, Roger A. H. Adan
Summary: Recent research shows that calcium activity and dopamine signals from VTA play important roles in the process of learning reward associations. Optogenetic inhibition during reward delivery disrupts learned behavior, while continued interference with these signals leads to impaired learning behavior. Cue-induced dopamine signals play a crucial role in driving learned behavior.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Merridee J. Lefner, Claire E. Stelly, Kaitlyn M. Fonzi, Hector Zurita, Matthew J. Wanat
Summary: Dopamine's control over behavior in Pavlovian tasks depends upon one's prior training experience and the information signaled by the cues.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Ewa Galaj, Robert Ranaldi
Summary: A major goal in psychology is to understand how environmental stimuli associated with primary rewards come to function as conditioned stimuli. The authors propose a neurobiological model based on the Hebbian idea, which explains how neutral stimuli become conditioned stimuli after concurrently activating neurons with primary rewards.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Shelley M. Warlow, Kent C. Berridge
Summary: The central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) plays a role in mediating both positively-valenced reward motivation and negatively-valenced fear. Stimulation of CeA circuitry can intensify incentive motivation while not affecting hedonic impact of the reward. CeA can promote either incentive motivation or fearful motivation, potentially leading to different outcomes in neuropsychiatric disorders involving aberrant motivational salience.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Aviv M. Weinstein
Summary: In the past 20 years, there has been an increasing number of brain imaging studies on the mechanisms underlying reward motivation in humans. This review describes studies on the neural mechanisms associated with reward motivation and their relationships with cognitive function in healthy human participants. The brain's reward circuitry controls reward-motivated behavior, and different regions such as the pre-frontal cortex, thalamus, and insula play specific roles in motivation, cognitive control, and incentive processing. The relationship between reward motivation and other cognitive processes such as learning, memory, and attention is reciprocal. There are also genetic and sex differences in reward motivation, and these studies have implications for understanding addiction, depression, and ADHD.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Mike J. F. Robinson, Qi Shan A. Bonmariage, Anne-Noel Samaha
Summary: Uncertain and intermittent access to rewards can increase reward-seeking behaviors, which is relevant to human conditions such as gambling, eating disorders, and drug addiction.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2023)