NEURAL MECHANISMS OF MOTIVATION AND REWARD

在我们对动机的研究中，我们发现猴子工作得更快， 当提示表明果汁奖励将被 在下一个正确的反应之后立即传递，而不是当提示 这表明还需要进行更多的试验。 单个神经元 腹侧纹状体信号奖励试验时，它遵循一个或多个 没有奖励的试验，从而提供了一个神经信号，可以加强 复杂的行为 神经元的反应直接与 联想学习的意义线索在一个复杂的行为 任务 具体地说，神经元跟踪动物是否处于 行为序列的开始或过程， 导致奖励。 神经元位于3-4 mm远的TE区， 颞叶皮层没有显示这种效应。 因此，我们假设， 多巴胺能输入提供对长期进展敏感的信号 通过一系列计划或预期的任务， 奖励

In our studies of motivation, we have found that monkeys work faster and with fewer errors when a cue indicates that a juice reward will be delivered immediately after the next correct response than when the cue indicates that additional trials will be needed. Single neurons in the ventral striatum signal the rewarded trial when it follows one or more unrewarded trials, thus providing a neural signal that could reinforce complex behavior. The neuronal responses are directly related to the associative learning of the meaning of the cue in a complex behavioral task. Specifically, the neurons keep track of whether the animal is at the beginning of or in the course of a behavioral sequence that ultimately leading to reward. Neurons located just 3-4 mm away in area TE of the temporal cortex fail to show this effect. Thus we hypothesize that dopaminergic input provides signals sensitive to long-term progress through a planned or expected series of tasks which culminated in reward.