The dopamine circuit as a reward-taxis navigation system.
Studying the brain circuits that control behavior is challenging, since in addition to their structural complexity there are continuous feedback interactions between actions and sensed inputs from the environment. It is therefore important to identify mathematical principles that can be used to deve...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-07-01
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| Series: | PLoS Computational Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010340 |
| _version_ | 1818486727253164032 |
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| author | Omer Karin Uri Alon |
| author_facet | Omer Karin Uri Alon |
| author_sort | Omer Karin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Studying the brain circuits that control behavior is challenging, since in addition to their structural complexity there are continuous feedback interactions between actions and sensed inputs from the environment. It is therefore important to identify mathematical principles that can be used to develop testable hypotheses. In this study, we use ideas and concepts from systems biology to study the dopamine system, which controls learning, motivation, and movement. Using data from neuronal recordings in behavioral experiments, we developed a mathematical model for dopamine responses and the effect of dopamine on movement. We show that the dopamine system shares core functional analogies with bacterial chemotaxis. Just as chemotaxis robustly climbs chemical attractant gradients, the dopamine circuit performs 'reward-taxis' where the attractant is the expected value of reward. The reward-taxis mechanism provides a simple explanation for scale-invariant dopaminergic responses and for matching in free operant settings, and makes testable quantitative predictions. We propose that reward-taxis is a simple and robust navigation strategy that complements other, more goal-directed navigation mechanisms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:26:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d99068b840e405799a5ced3288a3a19 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1553-734X 1553-7358 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:26:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Computational Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-3d99068b840e405799a5ced3288a3a192022-12-22T01:41:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582022-07-01187e101034010.1371/journal.pcbi.1010340The dopamine circuit as a reward-taxis navigation system.Omer KarinUri AlonStudying the brain circuits that control behavior is challenging, since in addition to their structural complexity there are continuous feedback interactions between actions and sensed inputs from the environment. It is therefore important to identify mathematical principles that can be used to develop testable hypotheses. In this study, we use ideas and concepts from systems biology to study the dopamine system, which controls learning, motivation, and movement. Using data from neuronal recordings in behavioral experiments, we developed a mathematical model for dopamine responses and the effect of dopamine on movement. We show that the dopamine system shares core functional analogies with bacterial chemotaxis. Just as chemotaxis robustly climbs chemical attractant gradients, the dopamine circuit performs 'reward-taxis' where the attractant is the expected value of reward. The reward-taxis mechanism provides a simple explanation for scale-invariant dopaminergic responses and for matching in free operant settings, and makes testable quantitative predictions. We propose that reward-taxis is a simple and robust navigation strategy that complements other, more goal-directed navigation mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010340 |
| spellingShingle | Omer Karin Uri Alon The dopamine circuit as a reward-taxis navigation system. PLoS Computational Biology |
| title | The dopamine circuit as a reward-taxis navigation system. |
| title_full | The dopamine circuit as a reward-taxis navigation system. |
| title_fullStr | The dopamine circuit as a reward-taxis navigation system. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The dopamine circuit as a reward-taxis navigation system. |
| title_short | The dopamine circuit as a reward-taxis navigation system. |
| title_sort | dopamine circuit as a reward taxis navigation system |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010340 |
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