Striatal dopamine signals errors in prediction across different informational domains

Dopamine is classically thought to drive learning based on errors in the prediction of rewards and punishments. However, animals also learn to predict cues with no intrinsic value or biological relevance to ongoing behavior, and it is unclear whether such latent learning also relies on dopaminergic prediction errors. Here, we tested this by recording dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and dorsomedial striatum while rats executed a sensory preconditioning task that incorporated both types of learning. We found that dopamine release in both regions correlated with errors in predicting value-neutral cues during latent learning and with errors in predicting reward during reward-based conditioning. Moreover, dopamine in the nucleus accumbens reflected inferred value in the probe test, supported by orbitofrontal cortex activity. Our findings show that dopamine signals prediction errors about both valued and neutral stimuli, consistent with its operation as a general teaching signal that supports learning across different informational domains.