Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Behaviorism01:28

Behaviorism

2.2K
The field of behaviorism was pioneered by figures such as Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner fundamentally shifted the focus of psychology to the observable and controllable aspects of human and animal behavior. This shift marked a critical evolution in the discipline, emphasizing scientific rigor and experimental methodology.
The core premise of behaviorism is its focus on observable behavior rather than internal thoughts or feelings. This approach argues that true scientific...
2.2K
Operant Conditioning01:21

Operant Conditioning

1.5K
Operant conditioning, a key concept in behavioral psychology, involves using reinforcement and punishment to alter the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. B.F. introduced this type of conditioning. Skinner focused on voluntary behaviors and the consequences that follow them, influencing whether these behaviors will be strengthened or diminished.
Reinforcement in operant conditioning can be positive or negative, both of which serve to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive...
1.5K
Law of Effect01:06

Law of Effect

1.3K
B.F. Skinner, a prominent figure in behavioral psychology, introduced operant conditioning by emphasizing the role of consequences in shaping behavior. This theory builds upon the law of effect proposed by Edward Thorndike, which posits that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are likely to be repeated. In contrast, those followed by unsatisfying outcomes are less likely to recur.
Edward Thorndike's foundational work involved studying learning in animals, particularly using puzzle...
1.3K
Operant Conditioning Intervention01:24

Operant Conditioning Intervention

33
Operant conditioning serves as a foundational principle in therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying maladaptive behaviors. Central to this approach is the notion that behaviors, both adaptive and maladaptive, are learned through reinforcement. By analyzing the environmental factors that reinforce problematic behaviors, clinicians can design interventions to weaken these reinforcements and replace maladaptive behaviors with healthier alternatives.
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
33
Timing and Consequences on Behavior01:08

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

71
In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective. 
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
71
Instinctive Drift01:05

Instinctive Drift

173
Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
173

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

AI-Discovered Cognitive Models Reveal Novel Insights into Human and Animal Learning.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Functional reorganization of motor cortex connectivity during learning.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Author Correction: Natural behaviour is learned through dopamine-mediated reinforcement.

Nature·2026
Same author

Neural representations of beliefs in a multi-dimensional inference task.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

The Primate Hippocampus Constructs a Temporal Scaffold Anchored to Behavioral Events.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Attentional switching in larval zebrafish.

Science advances·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2025

Simultaneous Detection of c-Fos Activation from Mesolimbic and Mesocortical Dopamine Reward Sites Following Naive Sugar and Fat Ingestion in Rats
08:07

Simultaneous Detection of c-Fos Activation from Mesolimbic and Mesocortical Dopamine Reward Sites Following Naive Sugar and Fat Ingestion in Rats

Published on: August 24, 2016

9.0K

Natural behaviour is learned through dopamine-mediated reinforcement.

Jonathan Kasdin1, Alison Duffy2, Nathan Nadler1

  • 1Department of Neuroscience, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.

Nature
|March 13, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Dopamine in zebra finches guides vocal learning by signaling improvements in song accuracy, akin to reinforcement learning. This suggests dopamine-based reinforcement learning underlies complex natural behaviors.

More Related Videos

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning
11:20

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning

Published on: June 2, 2014

11.9K
Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats
06:57

Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats

Published on: February 4, 2016

10.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 22, 2025

Simultaneous Detection of c-Fos Activation from Mesolimbic and Mesocortical Dopamine Reward Sites Following Naive Sugar and Fat Ingestion in Rats
08:07

Simultaneous Detection of c-Fos Activation from Mesolimbic and Mesocortical Dopamine Reward Sites Following Naive Sugar and Fat Ingestion in Rats

Published on: August 24, 2016

9.0K
Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning
11:20

Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning

Published on: June 2, 2014

11.9K
Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats
06:57

Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats

Published on: February 4, 2016

10.9K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Animal Behavior
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • Natural motor skills like speech are acquired through trial-and-error learning.
  • Dopamine in the basal ganglia is hypothesized to guide this learning by encoding reward prediction errors.
  • Previous studies showed dopamine encodes performance prediction error in adult zebra finches.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if developmental vocal learning in juvenile zebra finches occurs through dopamine-based reinforcement.
  • To monitor dopamine activity in Area X during song learning.

Main Methods:

  • Tracking song learning trajectories in juvenile zebra finches.
  • Using fiber photometry to monitor dopamine activity in Area X.
  • Analyzing the relationship between dopamine activity and song fluctuations.

Main Results:

  • Dopamine was activated after syllable renditions closer to the adult song version and suppressed after those further away.
  • Dopamine activity predicted future song evolution, indicating a driving role in behavior.
  • Dopamine activity correlated with the contrast between current and recent song renditions, consistent with prediction error encoding.

Conclusions:

  • Juvenile zebra finches use dopamine-mediated reinforcement learning for vocal acquisition.
  • Dopamine's role in encoding prediction errors appears crucial for complex natural behavior learning.
  • Reinforcement learning models can explain the acquisition of natural behaviors in biological systems.