Mihaela D Iordanova

This study uses computational modeling and optogenetics to show that dopamine neuron stimulation promotes learning, supporting the prediction error hypothesis over the rewarding value hypothesis.

The paper shows that deleting a specific neuronal ensemble in the amygdala central nucleus impairs extinction memory retrieval and promotes behavioral restoration.

The paper shows that different fear extinction methods engage distinct cortical regions, with the infralimbic cortex involved in extinction via omission and the orbitofrontal cortex involved in extinction via overexpectation.

This paper introduces a self-initiated cue-reward learning procedure for rodents that reduces session duration while maintaining discrimination learning performance.

The paper provides causal evidence that dopamine transients from reward-predictive cues function as prediction errors by showing their role in second-order conditioning.