Dopamine projections to the basolateral amygdala enable reward prediction

Reward predictions are critical to both adaptive learning and decision making. Such predictions are supported by environmental cues that signal the availability and identity of rewarding events. Here we used fiber photometry, cell-type and pathway-specific optogenetic inhibition, Pavlovian cue-reward conditioning, and decision-making tests in male and female rats to reveal that ventral tegmental area dopamine (VTA_DA) projections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) support cue-reward predictions. Reward-predictive cues trigger dopamine release in the BLA that encodes the value of the predicted reward. This cue-evoked VTA_DA→BLA activity mediates the ability of cue-reward predictions to bias action selection and adapt cue-response decisions based on the current value of the predicted reward. Cue-evoked VTA_DA→BLA activity also mediates the constraining influence of cue-reward predictions on new learning. Thus, cue-evoked BLA dopamine supports the reward predictions that both enable adaptive decision making and constrain learning.