Heather J. Pribut

From Prediction to Action: Dissociable Roles of Ventral Tegmental Area and Substantia Nigra Dopamine Neurons in Instrumental Reinforcement

This study identifies distinct roles of VTA and SNc dopamine neurons in instrumental learning through behavioral tasks and optogenetic manipulations, showing they support different reinforcement mechanisms.

Prior cocaine exposure increases firing to immediate reward while attenuating cue and context signals related to reward value in anterior insula

This study shows that chronic cocaine exposure enhances immediate reward signaling but reduces cue and context signals in the anterior insula, contributing to impaired decision-making.

Phasic Activation of Ventral Tegmental, but not Substantia Nigra, Dopamine Neurons Promotes Model-Based Pavlovian Reward Learning

This study shows that VTA dopamine neuron activation supports model-based reward learning, while SNc dopamine neuron activation only reinforces instrumental responses.