The brain is a prediction machine for rewards, and dopamine represents errors in predicting rewards on motivational aspects. When bets by the brain are resolved, dopamine serves as a signal for whether the outcome was better or worse than expected and how much better or worse the outcome was than expected.

The brain is a prediction machine for rewards, and dopamine represents errors in predicting rewards on motivational aspects. When bets by the brain are resolved, dopamine serves as a signal for whether the outcome was better or worse than expected and how much better or worse the outcome was than expected.