New research on dopamine signaling challenges the traditional model of reinforcement learning in the brain. The study found that dopamine release patterns in response to cues and rewards are more complex than previously believed. By using new tools to track dopamine in mice, researchers discovered that dopamine release timing varied in different parts of the brain’s striatum. Surprisingly, dopamine did not always correlate with the reward itself, but with cues signaling its approach. These findings suggest that the current understanding of reinforcement learning in the brain may need to be updated. The study was led by MIT Institute Professor Ann Graybiel and published in Nature Communications.
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New look at dopamine signaling suggests neuroscientists’ model of reinforcement learning may need to be revised
