Breaking boundaries: Dopamine’s role in prediction error, salient novelty, and memory reconsolidation

For memories to remain relevant and adaptive over the lifespan, modifications under specific conditions are required. Memory reconsolidation theory suggests that when a memory is reactivated, it can become labile, a state known as destabilization. This process is regulated by complex and dynamic neurobiological changes representing biological boundary conditions, which likely protect important memories from undergoing unnecessary or potentially maladaptive modifications. External cues, such as prediction error or other forms of salient novel information, can promote destabilization of these resistant memory traces. Accordingly, various neurobiological mechanisms related to the signaling of prediction errors and salient novelty have been implicated in overcoming boundary conditions, permitting memory modification. Here, we review the existing literature regarding the mechanisms for overcoming biological boundary conditions, with specific focus on the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine and its well documented functions related to prediction error, novelty detection, and memory reconsolidation. We aim to describe the nuanced role of dopamine in these processes as it pertains to destabilizing modification-resistant memories, highlight potential interactions with alternate neurotransmitter systems for this process, and bridge findings from reward learning and novelty processing to convey a holistic view of dopamine's role in memory reconsolidation more broadly.