| Literature DB >> 18802002 |
Garret D Stuber1, Marianne Klanker, Bram de Ridder, M Scott Bowers, Ruud N Joosten, Matthijs G Feenstra, Antonello Bonci.
Abstract
Using sensory information for the prediction of future events is essential for survival. Midbrain dopamine neurons are activated by environmental cues that predict rewards, but the cellular mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon remain elusive. We used in vivo voltammetry and in vitro patch-clamp electrophysiology to show that both dopamine release to reward predictive cues and enhanced synaptic strength onto dopamine neurons develop over the course of cue-reward learning. Increased synaptic strength was not observed after stable behavioral responding. Thus, enhanced synaptic strength onto dopamine neurons may act to facilitate the transformation of neutral environmental stimuli to salient reward-predictive cues.Entities:
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Year: 2008 PMID: 18802002 PMCID: PMC2613864 DOI: 10.1126/science.1160873
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Science ISSN: 0036-8075 Impact factor: 47.728