Mesolimbic dopamine ramps reflect environmental timescales
Mesolimbic dopamine activity occasionally exhibits ramping dynamics, reigniting debate on theories of dopamine signaling. This debate is ongoing partly because the experimental conditions under which dopamine ramps emerge remain poorly understood. Here, we show that during Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning in mice, mesolimbic dopamine ramps are only observed when the inter-trial interval is short relative to the trial period. These results constrain theories of dopamine signaling and identify a critical variable determining the emergence of dopamine ramps.
Authors
- Joseph R Floeder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6800-7730)
- Ali Mohebi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7291-3448)
- Vijay Mohan K Namboodiri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6674-610X)
- Huijeong Jeong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1219-4191)
Institutions
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Center for Neurosciences (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- eLife
- Published
- 2025-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.98666.3
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.91
Funders
- Pew Charitable Trusts
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- University of California, San Francisco
- National Institute of Mental Health