Redgrave, P., Prescott, T.J. and Gurney, K. orcid.org/0000-0003-4771-728X (1999) Is the short-latency dopamine response too short to signal reward error? Trends in Neurosciences, 22 (4). pp. 146-151. ISSN 0166-2236
Abstract
Unexpected stimuli that are behaviourally significant have the capacity to elicit a short-latency, short-duration burst of firing in mesencephalic dopaminergic neurones. An influential interpretation of the experimental data that characterize this response proposes that dopaminergic neurones have a crucial role in reinforcement learning because they signal error in the prediction of future reward. In this article we propose a different functional role for this ‘short-latency dopamine response’ in the mechanisms that underlie associative learning. We suggest that the initial burst of dopaminergic-neurone firing could represent an essential component in the process of switching attentional and behavioural selections to unexpected, behaviourally important stimuli. This switching response could be a crucial prerequisite for associative learning and might be part of a general short-latency response that is mediated by catecholamines and prepares the organism for an appropriate reaction to biologically significant events.
Any act which in a given situation produces satisfaction becomes associated with that situation so that when the situation recurs the act is more likely than before to recur also. E.L. Thorndike (1911) .
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Trends in Neurosciences. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
Keywords: | Dopamine; Reward-error; Reward-prediction; Reinforcement; Attention; Selection; Behavioural switching; Behavioural interrupt; Associative conditioning |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 14 Nov 2016 15:07 |
Last Modified: | 21 Mar 2018 03:54 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2236(98)01373-3 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/S0166-2236(98)01373-3 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:107034 |