Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( 🔒 ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Need Help

Individual differences through self-reinforcement of suboptimal strategies

Award Number: DP1MH136573
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/21/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2028

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Individual differences through self-reinforcement of suboptimal strategies - Project Summary/Abstract What produces individual differences in behavior? This fundamental question has classically been given two answers: nature and nurture. Here, we suggest that those two answers, while both critical and correct, are insufficient to fully explain individual variability. Instead, we propose that the vast differences in behavior between individuals arise in part from different individuals forming different reward associations within the same environment. This results from the fact that the world is complex and high-dimensional, in that there are almost always multiple possible actions or events that could be attributed to reward. Given the key role of dopamine neurons as the brain’s positive feedback system for behavioral control, the specific hypothesis is that small differences across individuals in initial conditions ultimately produce large differences in which features of the environment that the individual attributes to reward. This hypothesis is inspired in part by complex systems theory, which emphasizes the role of positive feedback in generating and amplifying small differences, creating outcomes that seem stochastic. To address this hypothesis, we will leverage our recent finding that different dopamine neurons calculate reward prediction error across different dimensions of the environment. Specifically, we will use dopamine neuron recordings to infer the time-varying features of the environment that each animal uses to predict reward, and then build reinforcement learning models of each individual based on these features. Ultimately, this testable framework aims to explain both normal variation across individuals, as well as the ubiquitous contribution of dopamine in mediating a disparate range of neuropsychiatric diseases.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $2,296,000 )
2026	2026	THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY	1 NASSAU HALL	PRINCETON	NJ	08544	MERCER	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	9/1/2026	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$2,296,000
2026	2025	THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY	1 NASSAU HALL	PRINCETON	NJ	08544	MERCER	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	8/28/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $2,296,000

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $1,148,000 )
2025	2025	THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY	1 NASSAU HALL	PRINCETON	NJ	08544	MERCER	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	7/23/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,148,000
														Subtotal = $1,148,000

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $1,148,000 )
2024	2024	THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY	1 NASSAU HALL	PRINCETON	NJ	08544	MERCER	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	8/13/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,148,000
														Subtotal = $1,148,000

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $1,135,167 )
2023	2023	THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY	1 NASSAU HALL	PRINCETON	NJ	08544	MERCER	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	1	8/22/2023	NEW	$0
2023	2023	THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY	1 NASSAU HALL	PRINCETON	NJ	08544	MERCER	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	8/21/2023	NEW	$1,135,167
														Subtotal = $1,135,167

Grand Total All Awards = $5,727,167

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Individual differences through self-reinforcement of suboptimal strategies

Award Number: DP1MH136573

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/21/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2028

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer