The role of midbrain dopamine neurons in reward prediction and reward seeking

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To succeed in their struggle for survival and reproductive success, animals must make wise choices about which goals to pursue and how much to pay and risk to attain them. How does the brain make such decisions and adjust behaviour accordingly? Neurobiologists, computer scientists, and psychologists have collaborated in developing an influential theory to answer these questions. The theory holds that dopamine cells in the brain adjust the accuracy of predictions about rewards and set the values assigned to reward-seeking actions. The activity of these dopamine neurons is posited to reflect the difference between the consequences that are expected and those that come to pass. This dopamine signal provides feedback to improve predictions of future outcomes and to choose the actions required to achieve them. One line of novel experiments will test the prediction-error theory in rats working for optical activation of dopamine cells. The release of dopamine will be monitored by miniature chemical sensors as the rats’ predictions and reward-seeking actions are measured.