Primary food reward and reward-predictive stimuli evoke different patterns of phasic dopamine signaling throughout the striatum

摘要: Phasic changes in dopamine activity play a critical role learning and goal-directed behavior. Unpredicted reward predictive cues evoke phasic increases the firing rate of majority midbrain neurons – results that predict uniformly broadcast concentration throughout striatum. However, measurement during has cast doubt on this prediction. We systematically measured four striatal subregions (nucleus accumbens shell (Shell) core (Core), dorsomedial (DMS) dorsolateral striatum (DLS)) response to stimuli known activate neurons. used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry awake behaving rats, which measures similar timescale electrophysiological recordings established relationship between reward. Unlike responses neurons, unpredicted food reward-predictive evoked increase was subregion specific. In rats with limited experience, an exclusively Core. trained discriminative stimulus paradigm, both robust Core DMS. Thus, release select target structures is dynamic dependent context experience. Since assayed receive different inputs have differential projection targets, regional selectivity important implications for information flow through plasticity underlies