Dopamine neurons fire when a reward is anticipated based on
Dopamine neurons fire when a reward is anticipated based on a learned cue, not when the reward is received — dopamine is a prediction signal, not a pleasure signal.
Why This Is an Axiom
This is Wolfram Schultz's foundational finding about how dopamine actually functions in the brain. It is an irreducible empirical claim about neurochemistry that explains the mechanism of craving in habit loops and cannot be derived from other curriculum axioms.
Source Lessons
Habit anatomy consists of cue routine and reward
Every habit has a trigger a behavior sequence and a payoff — change any one to change the habit.
Reward immediately
The brain learns from immediate rewards not delayed ones — add instant gratification.
The reward must satisfy a craving
The reward works because it satisfies an underlying craving — identify the craving.
The golden rule of habit change
You can change the routine if you keep the same cue and deliver the same reward.
Craving engineering
You can create cravings for positive behaviors by consistently pairing them with rewards.
Mastering the cue-routine-reward loop gives you control over your automatic behavior
Understanding this loop is the key to deliberate behavioral design.
Extinction requires removing the reward
A behavior persists because it is rewarded — find and remove the reward.