Penn Psychology Study Shows Learning Altered by Electrical Stimulation of Dopamine Neurons

Stimulation of a certain population of neurons within the brain can alter the learning process, according to a team of Penn neuroscientists and neurosurgeons including co-senior author and Professor of Psychology Michael Kahana.

Their findings indicate for the first time that human learning can be modified by stimulation of dopamine-containing neurons in a deep brain structure known as the substantia nigra. Researchers suggest that the stimulation may have altered learning by biasing individuals to repeat physical actions that resulted in reward.

Stimulating the substantia nigra as participants received a reward led them to repeat the action that preceded the reward, suggesting to researchers that this brain region plays an important role in adjusting action-based associative learning. The findings hold possible clinical implications for conditions such as substance abuse, problem gambling, or rehabilitation of patients with neurological deficits.

The study was published in The Journal of Neuroscience, and supported by the National Institutes of Health.

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