A new study at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology reveals the role of dopamine in acquiring new motor skills. The study found that the local release of dopamine in the brain's reward system is a key factor in learning new motor skills. The researchers used advanced techniques to study the function of brain cells and found that blocking dopamine completely halted the learning process. The results provide evidence that dopamine plays a crucial role in neural plasticity in the motor cortex, enabling the necessary adaptations for precise and efficient motor commands.