Dopamine neurons respond to errors in predicting value-neutral sensory information. These data, combined with causal evidence that dopamine transients support sensory-based associative learning, suggest that the dopamine system signals a multidimensional prediction error. Yet such complexity is not evident in the activity of individual neurons or population averages. How then do downstream areas know what to learn in response to these signals? One possibility is that information about content is contained in the pattern of firing across many dopamine neurons. Consistent with this, here we show that the pattern of firing across a small group of dopamine neurons recorded in rats signals the identity of a mis-predicted sensory event. Further, this same information is reflected in the BOLD response elicited by sensory prediction errors in human midbrain. These data provide evidence that ensembles of dopamine neurons provide highly specific teaching signals, opening new possibilities for how this system might contribute to learning.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6839916PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.49315DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

dopamine neurons
16
sensory prediction
8
prediction errors
8
pattern firing
8
dopamine
7
neurons
5
dopamine neuron
4
neuron ensembles
4
ensembles signal
4
signal content
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!