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Dopamine transients delivered in learning contexts do not act as model-free prediction errors

Melissa J. Sharpe, Hannah M. Batchelor, Lauren E. Mueller, Chun Yun Chang, Etienne J.P. Maes, Yael Niv, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/574541
Melissa J. Sharpe
Department of Psychology, Univesity of California, Los Angeles CA 90095
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Hannah M. Batchelor
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224
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Lauren E. Mueller
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224
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Chun Yun Chang
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224
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Etienne J.P. Maes
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224
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Yael Niv
Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544Psychology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
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Geoffrey Schoenbaum
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224Departments of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287
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Abstract

Dopamine neurons fire transiently in response to unexpected rewards. These neural correlates are proposed to signal the reward prediction error described in model-free reinforcement learning algorithms. This error term represents the unpredicted or ‘excess’ value of the rewarding event. In model-free reinforcement learning, this value is then stored as part of the learned value of any antecedent cues, contexts or events, making them intrinsically valuable, independent of the specific rewarding event that caused the prediction error. In support of equivalence between dopamine transients and this model-free error term, proponents cite causal optogenetic studies showing that artificially induced dopamine transients cause lasting changes in behavior. Yet none of these studies directly demonstrate the presence of cached value under conditions appropriate for associative learning. To address this gap in our knowledge, we conducted three studies where we optogenetically activated dopamine neurons while rats were learning associative relationships, both with and without reward. In each experiment, the antecedent cues failed to acquired value and instead entered into value-independent associative relationships with the other cues or rewards. These results show that dopamine transients, constrained within appropriate learning situations, support valueless associative learning.

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Posted March 12, 2019.
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Dopamine transients delivered in learning contexts do not act as model-free prediction errors
Melissa J. Sharpe, Hannah M. Batchelor, Lauren E. Mueller, Chun Yun Chang, Etienne J.P. Maes, Yael Niv, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
bioRxiv 574541; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/574541
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Dopamine transients delivered in learning contexts do not act as model-free prediction errors
Melissa J. Sharpe, Hannah M. Batchelor, Lauren E. Mueller, Chun Yun Chang, Etienne J.P. Maes, Yael Niv, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
bioRxiv 574541; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/574541

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