ArticleNature neuroscience2022
VTA dopamine neuron activity encodes social interaction and promotes reinforcement learning through social prediction error.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers.
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Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed.
- L-DOPA and oxytocin influence the neural correlates of performance monitoring for self and others.Psychopharmacology · 2024Trial
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- Distributed cortical learning through LEC-mediated γ-synchrony.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Characterization of nucleus accumbens dopamine dynamics during positive and negative operant reinforcement in rats.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- History, pharmacology and therapeutic mechanisms of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).British journal of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Targeting dopamine transporter for treating social transmission of depression-like behaviors in male mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
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- Olfactory tubercle mediates adaptive social behavior by controlling threat assessment and the expression of social threat memories during recall in male mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Attenuation of social preference and alteration of cortical neurons following adolescent cerebellar nuclei perturbation.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- A homecage operant paradigm reveals behavioral dynamics of social motivation in mice.Cell reports methods · 2026Article
- Social reward outcompetes drug seeking dopaminergic ensembles to prevent relapse.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Review
- Interdependency between oxytocin and dopamine in trust-based learning in mice.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- VTA-forebrain connectivity moderates adaptive behavior.Brain structure & function · 2026Review
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- The Role of the Ventral Tegmental Area in Reward and Addiction: A Comprehensive Review.Neurosciences (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) · 2026Review
- A narrative review on oxytocin at the intersection of sleep, stress, and social behavior.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Sense of agency and addiction.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- An automated two-choice social operant task for probing moment-to-moment changes in social satiety.iScience · 2025Article
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Social interactions are motivated behaviors that, in many species, facilitate learning. However, how the brain encodes the reinforcing properties of social interactions remains unclear. In this study, using in vivo recording in freely moving mice, we show that dopamine (DA) neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) increase their activity during interactions with an unfamiliar conspecific and display heterogeneous responses. Using a social instrumental task, we then show that VTA DA neuron activity encodes social prediction error and drives social reinforcement learning. Thus, our findings suggest that VTA DA neurons are a neural substrate for a social learning signal that drives motivated behavior.
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