Dopamine and Serotonin Work in Opposition for Effective Learning

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Dopamine and Serotonin Work in Opposition for Effective Learning

"Key Facts:

Dopamine promotes reward-seeking by signaling when things are better than expected, while serotonin moderates these impulses by encouraging patience.

Effective learning requires both systems to function, as their absence disrupts the ability to link cues to rewards.

Insights could lead to new treatments for addiction, depression, and other disorders involving dopamine-serotonin imbalance.

Source: Stanford"

 

"“In addition to their involvement in our everyday behavior, dopamine and serotonin are implicated in a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders: addiction, autism, depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s and more,” said study senior author Robert Malenka, the Pritzker Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford."

 

"The researchers then used optogenetic manipulation (a technique that uses light to control genetically modified neurons) to selectively blunt the normal signaling of each system — either alone or in combination — during reward learning."

 

"For example, in addiction treatment, therapies might aim to dampen overactive dopamine signaling while boosting serotonin activity. In depression, the goal might be to enhance both systems to improve motivation and long-term planning."