ArticleNeuron2023
A dopaminergic reward prediction error signal shapes maternal behavior in mice.
Article in Neuron, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed.
- Neural circuits for mammalian parental behaviour.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Maternal Social Support Reshapes the Offspring Brain Transcriptome to Buffer Prenatal Stress in Mice.Research square · 2026Article
- Distributed cortical learning through LEC-mediated γ-synchrony.Nature communications · 2026Article
- A prolactin-receptive neural circuit drives maternal interactions with pups in mice.Science advances · 2026Article
- Complementary influences of noradrenaline and dopamine in orchestrating a motivated social behavior.Current opinion in neurobiology · 2026Review
- Mesolimbic dopamine signaling mediates increased hedonic feeding and food seeking in lactating mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Neural correlates of adversity-overcoming pup rescue behavior in female mice.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Submedius thalamic inputs shape the presynaptic architecture of layer 5 orbitofrontal cortex in mice.iScience · 2026Article
- How helping others helps us: neural mechanisms linking prosocial behavior to psychological and physical wellbeing.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- Neural plasticity supporting parental behaviors.Current opinion in neurobiology · 2025Review
- A Scoping Review of Neurotoxic and Behavioral Outcomes Following Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Exposure in Post-Weaned Rodents.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Comparative gene editing reduces dopamine receptor levels across rodent species.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Dopamine dynamics underlying maternal motivation and reward.Neuroscience research · 2025Review
- Experience-dependent maternal defense behavior mediated by profrontal cortical projections to the medial preoptic area in mice.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Activation of the tail of the ventral tegmental area in response to pup predicting cues in maternal rats.Brain structure & function · 2025Article
- Orbitofrontal cortex influences dopamine dynamics associated with alloparental behavioral acquisition in female mice.Science advances · 2025Article
- Stress and parental behaviors.Neuroscience research · 2025Review
- Interactions of sex and stress in modulation of ventral tegmental area dopaminergic activity.Current opinion in behavioral sciences · 2025Article
- Hypothalamic Vasopressin Neurons Enable Maternal Thermoregulatory Behaviors.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Failure in the mother-young communication in domestic mammals: endocrine and behavioral aspects.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Review
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5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
How social contact is perceived as rewarding and subsequently modifies interactions is unclear. Dopamine (DA) from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) regulates sociality, but the ongoing, unstructured nature of free behavior makes it difficult to ascertain how. Here, we tracked the emergence of a repetitive stereotyped parental retrieval behavior and conclude that VTA DA neurons incrementally refine it by reinforcement learning (RL). Trial-by-trial performance was correlated with the history of DA neuron activity, but DA signals were inconsistent with VTA directly influencing the current trial. We manipulated the subject's expectation of imminent pup contact and show that DA signals convey reward prediction error, a fundamental component of RL. Finally, closed-loop optogenetic inactivation of DA neurons at the onset of pup contact dramatically slowed emergence of parental care. We conclude that this component of maternal behavior is shaped by an RL mechanism in which social contact itself is the primary reward.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.