Data from: Dopamine release-associated striatal blood oxygenation and whole-brain plasticity during associative learning
Data files
Sep 08, 2026 version files 9.26 MB
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Figure_reproduction.zip
9.26 MB
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README.md
2.47 KB
Abstract
This dataset contains the processed and analysis-ready data used to generate the figures reported in the associated study, which investigates the relationship between dopaminergic signaling and brain-wide hemodynamic responses during reward-based learning. The experiments combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with fiber photometry recordings of dopamine dynamics in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of awake, behaving mice performing a cue–reward associative learning task. Across training, mice learned to associate a visual cue with water reward delivery. BOLD responses and dopamine transients were measured during learning and during a variable-reward task in which reward magnitude was randomly varied. The dataset includes preprocessed BOLD time-series data extracted from regions of interest, dopamine photometry recordings (GRABDA signals), behavioral measurements (lick rate traces and trial structure), and summary statistics used for the analyses presented in the figures. In addition, derived data used for figure generation—including averaged time courses, area-under-the-curve measurements, and statistical comparison outputs—are provided to enable reproduction of the main analyses. These data support the findings that associative learning produces a temporal shift in NAc BOLD responses that parallels dopamine release dynamics, and that reward magnitude modulates delayed BOLD responses across a distributed network of brain regions. All files are organized by experiment and figure panel to facilitate reproducibility and reanalysis. The repository contains sufficient processed data to reproduce the analyses and visualizations reported in the manuscript figures.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.4mw6m90rq
Description of the data and file structure
This dataset accompanies the manuscript “Dopamine release effects on striatal blood oxygenation and whole-brain plasticity underlying associative learning.”
Concurrent BOLD fMRI and GRABDA dopamine fiber photometry recordings in awake, behaving mice performing a cue–reward associative learning task.
Files and variables
File: Figure_reproduction.zip
Description:
This compressed folder contains MATLAB scripts and associated data used to reproduce the figures in the manuscript. The archive includes five subfolders (Figure1–Figure5). Each folder contains a main script (Main_Figure1.m–Main_Figure5.m) that generates the corresponding figure.
Within each script, individual panels can be reproduced using subsectioned code blocks. Each subsection is labeled with titles indicating the specific panel being generated. Running the scripts sequentially allows full reproduction of the figures presented in the study.
Folders labeled _fMRI contain voxel-wise maps for individual mice, as well as group-level analysis outputs. These include either second-level statistical maps (T-statistics) or thresholded correlation coefficient maps derived from the corresponding statistical analyses. The fMRI results can be overlaid on a resampled DSURQE atlas, specifically the 40-µm average template, resampled to a 62 × 42 × 48 voxel grid with voxel dimensions of 0.2 × 0.45 × 0.2 mm.
A Figures_description.rtf file is included in the main folder, providing standalone descriptions of each figure, including relevant units of measurement and definitions of abbreviations.
Code/software
The data and scripts can be run using MATLAB (R2020b or later) or the open-source alternative GNU Octave. No additional toolboxes or external packages are required.
All data and scripts are organized by figure. Each figure folder contains a corresponding MATLAB script (Main_Figure1.m–Main_Figure5.m) that reproduces the analyses and plots for that figure. The workflow within each script is structured using sequential subsections, which generate individual panels step by step. Running the subsections in order reproduces the results and figures reported in the manuscript.