Dr. Wolfram Schultz is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and one of the world’s leading experts on dopamine.

In this episode, we discuss the dopamine system's role in reward processing, evolutionary fitness, the functioning of dopamine neurons, the interplay between reward vs punishment, and the complexity of neurons. Dr. Schultz overviews core mechanisms of value-guided decision-making, risk-taking, addiction, the role of prediction error in shaping reinforcement learning, how these are all explained by dopamine, and the differences between dopamine and serotonin

00:18 Understanding Reward Processing in Animals
01:29 Evolutionary Role of Reward System
03:31 Complexity of Reward System and Dopamine Neurons
04:31 Differentiating Reward and Avoidance Systems
05:35 Role of Emotion in Reward Processing
08:07 Exploring Consciousness and its Measurement
08:49 Dopamine Firing in Different Scenarios
11:41 Understanding the Complexity of Neurons
18:23 Exploring the Concept of Prediction Error
27:36 Understanding the Role of Dopamine in Depression
30:52 Understanding the Role of Serotonin and Dopamine
33:55 Exploring the Concept of Metacognition
43:28 Understanding the Development of Reward System in Humans
43:59 Understanding the Reward System in Infants
45:36 The Maturation of the Reward System
46:41 The Role of Neural Connections in Reward System
47:23 The Concept of Reward Sensitivity During Adolescence
48:44 The Importance of Exploration in Reward System
54:53 The Role of Dopamine in Reward System
01:02:41 Understanding Addiction and Dopamine's Role
01:02:45 The Impact of Modern Day Environment on Reward System
01:13:04 The Role of Risk in Assessing Subjective Reward Value
01:18:06 Understanding Individual Differences in Reward Sensitivity
01:20:14 The Never-Ending Journey of Incentive Reward

#Neuroscience #Dopamine #RewardProcessing #BehavioralEconomics #Addiction #RiskTaking #NatureandNurture