A global dopaminergic learning rate enables adaptive foraging across many options.

A global dopaminergic learning rate in the nucleus accumbens core enables mice to adaptively forage across six options within minutes.

• Why it matters: Understanding how animals efficiently learn and make decisions in complex, multi-resource environments addresses gaps in current models of natural foraging behavior.
• What they did: Researchers developed a novel paradigm with water-restricted mice exploring six options in a large arena, and used reinforcement learning models and fiber photometry to study neural mechanisms.
• The result: Dopamine signals in the nucleus accumbens core reflected the global learning rate, and optogenetic manipulation confirmed its causal role, enabling rapid, adaptive multi-option foraging.