Author(s): Usypchuk AA; Maes EJP; Lozzi M; Avramidis DK; Schoenbaum G; Esber GR; Gardner MPH; Iordanova MD;

The discovery that midbrain dopamine (DA) transients can be mapped onto reward prediction errors (RPEs), the critical signal that drives learning, is a landmark in neuroscience. Causal support for the RPE hypothesis comes from studies showing that stimulating DA neurons can drive learning under c ...

Article GUID: 40738112

Author(s): Pallikaras V; Carter F; Velazquez-Martinez DN; Arvanitogiannis A; Shizgal P;

Optogenetic experiments reveal functional roles of specific neurons. However, functional inferences have been limited by widespread adoption of a restricted set of stimulation parameters. Broader exploration of the parameter space can deepen insight into the mapping between selective neural activity and behavior. In this way, characteristics of the activa ...

Article GUID: 34864162