Dopamine synapses and operant conditioning

Project Narrative Drug abuse, psychosis in schizophrenia, attention deficit disorders, and Parkinson's disease are each caused by or treated by alterations in dopamine synaptic function: these synapses are further involved in normal learning and decision making. The precise steps by which dopamine synapses enable these functions remain unclear, but new technological advances in optical recordings have recently enabled our laboratory and others to identify specific interactions that control decisions and learning. This project will define how an animal's experience modulates dopamine synaptic activity and learning, and will help explain how addiction develops and how dopaminergic drugs treat schizophrenia, attention deficit, and Parkinson's.