Dopamine plays a crucial role in energizing movement and the pursuit of rewards, particularly in conditions like Parkinson's disease, where its deficiency leads to significant challenges in willful action. Research highlights the distinction between wanting and liking rewards, showing that while dopamine-deprived animals may still receive rewards, they lack the motivation to work for them. Additionally, fascinating studies reveal how dopamine activity is involved in learning associations, such as linking a tone to an impending shock, underscoring its complex role in both reward processing and fear conditioning.
