Contributing Authors: David A. Ross, MD, PhD, & Robert Malison, MD
Overview: This session is designed to teach residents about the basic neural circuitry of the reward pathway with a central emphasis on the following two concepts: 1. Dopamine (DA) is a signal for teaching/learning about the environment; and 2. Learning about the environment is proportional to Reward Prediction Error (RPE). The session is built on experiential learning exercises that are designed to embody these core principles. When executed well, the session should be all about contrast and surprise.
Author Affiliations: Dr. Ross is an Associate Program Director and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Malison is a Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit (CNRU), Director of the Neuroscience Research Training Program and Chief of the Cocaine Research Clinic at Yale School of Medicine. The National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative is a collaborative effort with AADPRT and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Council on Medical Education and Lifelong Learning and receives support from the NIH (R25 MH10107602S1) ©National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative.
