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Phasic mesolimbic dopamine release tracks reward seeking during expression of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer.

ABSTRACT: Recent theories addressing mesolimbic dopamine's role in reward processing emphasize two apparently distinct functions, one in reinforcement learning (i.e., prediction error) and another in incentive motivation (i.e., the invigoration of reward seeking elicited by reward-paired cues). Here, we evaluate the latter.Using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, we monitored, in real time, dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core of rats (n = 9) during a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer task in which the effects of a reward-predictive cue on an independently trained instrumental action were assessed. Voltammetric data were parsed into slow and phasic components to determine whether these forms of dopamine signaling were differentially related to task performance.We found that a reward-paired cue, which increased reward-seeking actions, induced an increase in phasic mesolimbic dopamine release and produced slower elevations in extracellular dopamine. Interestingly, phasic dopamine release was temporally related to and positively correlated with lever-press activity generally, while slow dopamine changes were not significantly related to such activity. Importantly, the propensity of the reward-paired cue to increase lever pressing was predicted by the amplitude of phasic dopamine release events, indicating a possible mechanism through which cues initiate reward-seeking actions.These data suggest that those phasic mesolimbic dopamine release events thought to signal reward prediction error may also be related to the incentive motivational impact of reward-paired cues on reward-seeking actions.

SUBMITTER: Wassum KM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3615104 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Phasic mesolimbic dopamine release tracks reward seeking during expression of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer.

Wassum Kate M KM Ostlund Sean B SB Loewinger Gabriel C GC Maidment Nigel T NT

Biological psychiatry 20130129 8

<h4>Background</h4>Recent theories addressing mesolimbic dopamine's role in reward processing emphasize two apparently distinct functions, one in reinforcement learning (i.e., prediction error) and another in incentive motivation (i.e., the invigoration of reward seeking elicited by reward-paired cues). Here, we evaluate the latter.<h4>Methods</h4>Using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, we monitored, in real time, dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core of rats (n = 9) during a Pavlovian-to-i ...[more]

PMID: 23374641

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Project description:Threat conditioning is a common associative learning model with translational relevance. How threat-conditioned cues impact on formally unrelated instrumental behavior in humans is not well known. Such an effect is known as Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT). While PIT with aversive primary Pavlovian reinforcers is established in nonhuman animals, this is less clear in humans, where secondary reinforcers or instructed instrumental responses are most often investigated. We modified an existing human PIT procedure to include primary reinforcers. Participants first learned to obtain (or avoid losing) appetitive instrumental reinforcement (chocolate) by appropriate approach or avoidance actions. They either had to act (Go) or to withhold an action (NoGo), and in the Go condition either to approach a reward target to collect it or to withdraw from the reward target to avoid losing it. Then they learned to associate screen color (CS) with aversive Pavlovian reinforcement (electric shock US). In the transfer phase, we conducted the instrumental task during the presence of Pavlovian CS. In a first experiment, we show that the aversive Pavlovian CS+, compared to CS-, increased response rate in Go-Withdraw trials, i.e., induce conditioned facilitation of avoidance responses. This finding was confirmed in a second and independent experiment with an increased number of Go-Withdraw trials. Notably, we observed no appreciable conditioned suppression of approach responses. Effect size to distinguish CS+/CS- in Go-Withdraw trials was d = 0.42 in the confirmation sample. This would require n = 37 participants to demonstrate threat learning with 80% power. Thus, the effect size is on a practically useful scale although smaller than for model-based analysis of autonomic measures. In summary, our results indicate conditioned facilitation of formally unrelated instrumental avoidance behavior in humans and provide a novel behavioral threat learning measure that requires only key presses.

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Phasic mesolimbic dopamine release tracks reward seeking during expression of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer.

Publications

Phasic mesolimbic dopamine release tracks reward seeking during expression of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer.

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