VTA dopamine neuron activity encodes social interaction and promotes reinforcement learning through social prediction error

Nat Neurosci. 2022 Jan;25(1):86-97. doi: 10.1038/s41593-021-00972-9. | PubMed

Clément Solié^1,2, Benoit Girard¹, Beatrice Righetti¹, Malika Tapparel¹, Camilla Bellone³

1. Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
2. Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS UMR 8249, ESPCI ParisTech, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
3. Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. camilla.bellone@unige.ch.

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.

Presented By Clément Solié | ORCID iD