Malou Dongelmans

Chronic nicotine increases midbrain dopamine neuron activity and biases individual strategies towards reduced exploration in a foraging task.

This study shows chronic nicotine exposure shifts decision-making strategies toward increased exploitation in a foraging task, with optogenetic manipulation of dopamine neurons replicating this effect.

Mice adaptively generate choice variability in a deterministic task

This study shows mice generate choice variability in a deterministic task through memory-free, pseudo-random selection rather than learning complex sequences.