Midbrain dopamine neurons are thought to signal reward prediction errors (RPEs), but the mechanisms underlying RPE computation, particularly the contributions of different neurotransmitters, remain poorly understood. Here, we used a genetically encoded glutamate sensor to examine the pattern of glutamate inputs to dopamine neurons in mice. We found that glutamate inputs exhibit virtually all of the characteristics of RPE rather than conveying a specific component of RPE computation, such as reward or expectation. Notably, whereas glutamate inputs were transiently inhibited by reward omission, they were excited by aversive stimuli. Opioid analgesics altered dopamine negative responses to aversive stimuli into more positive responses, whereas excitatory responses of glutamate inputs remained unchanged. Our findings uncover previously unknown synaptic mechanisms underlying RPE computations; dopamine responses are shaped by both synergistic and competitive interactions between glutamatergic and GABAergic inputs to dopamine neurons depending on valences, with competitive interactions playing a role in responses to aversive stimuli.
Keywords: classical conditioning; computation; dopamine; glutamate; glutamate sensor; opioid; reward prediction error; sequential conditioning; temporal difference error; ventral tegmental area.
Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.