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Research ArticleResearch Article: New Research, Cognition and Behavior

Dynamic Encoding of Reward Prediction Error Signals in the Pigeon Ventral Tegmental Area during Reinforcement Learning

Zhigang Shang, Jiashuo Zhang, Mengmeng Li, Suchen Li, Yinghui Wang and Lifang Yang
eNeuro 19 February 2026, 13 (3) ENEURO.0355-25.2026; https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0355-25.2026
Zhigang Shang
1School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
2Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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Jiashuo Zhang
1School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
2Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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Mengmeng Li
1School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
2Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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  • ORCID record for Mengmeng Li
Suchen Li
1School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
2Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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Yinghui Wang
1School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
2Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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Lifang Yang
1School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
2Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
3The Affiliated Encephalopathy Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhumadian 463000, China
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Article Information

DOI 
https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0355-25.2026
PubMed 
41714142
Published By 
Society for Neuroscience
History 
  • Received September 23, 2025
  • Revision received February 10, 2026
  • Accepted February 12, 2026
  • Published online February 19, 2026.
Copyright & Usage 
Copyright © 2026 Shang et al.> This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed.

Author Information

  1. Zhigang Shang1,2,
  2. Jiashuo Zhang1,2,
  3. Mengmeng Li1,2,
  4. Suchen Li1,2,
  5. Yinghui Wang1,2 and
  6. Lifang Yang1,2,3
  1. 1School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
  2. 2Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
  3. 3The Affiliated Encephalopathy Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhumadian 463000, China
  1. Correspondence should be addressed to Lifang Yang at lifang_yang1014{at}zzu.edu.cn.
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Author contributions

  1. Author contributions: Z.S. and L.Y. designed research; J.Z., M.L., S.L., and L.Y. performed research; Y.W. contributed unpublished reagents/analytic tools; Z.S., J.Z., M.L., and L.Y. analyzed data; Z.S., J.Z., and L.Y. wrote the paper.

Disclosures

  • The authors declare no competing financial interests.

  • This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62301496), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2025T180781), the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (GZC20232447), the Key Scientific and Technological Projects of Henan Province (252102210008, 252102311095), the Key Scientific Research Project of Higher Education Institutions in Henan Province (26A416004, 25B520068), and the Technology Development Project of the Affiliated Encephalopathy Hospital of Zhengzhou University (20250662A).

Funding

  • Lifang Yang

    252102210008

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Dynamic Encoding of Reward Prediction Error Signals in the Pigeon Ventral Tegmental Area during Reinforcement Learning
Zhigang Shang, Jiashuo Zhang, Mengmeng Li, Suchen Li, Yinghui Wang, Lifang Yang
eNeuro 19 February 2026, 13 (3) ENEURO.0355-25.2026; DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0355-25.2026

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Dynamic Encoding of Reward Prediction Error Signals in the Pigeon Ventral Tegmental Area during Reinforcement Learning
Zhigang Shang, Jiashuo Zhang, Mengmeng Li, Suchen Li, Yinghui Wang, Lifang Yang
eNeuro 19 February 2026, 13 (3) ENEURO.0355-25.2026; DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0355-25.2026
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Keywords

  • dynamic encoding
  • pigeon
  • reward prediction error
  • spike
  • ventral tegmental area

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