Blogs
Training advice, inspirations, and motivations all found here.
#22: The Neurobiology of the Click - How Dopamine Rewires Your Horse's Brain
In positive reinforcement, the click is more than just a noise the horse responds to in order to receive food... To truly understand why the click is so powerful, we have to look at the neurobiology of the horse. Dopamine is often misunderstood as just a feel-good chemical that arrives when the horse gets the food, but the science tells a much more interesting story. Dopamine is actually the neurochemical of anticipation and search.
The moment a horse hears the click, his brain undergoes a massive chemical shift. Because the click has a history of being paired with a reward, the sound itself triggers a dopamine spike. This spike happens before the food even reaches his mouth. It is the brain's way of saying something great is happening, pay attention to exactly what you just did. This creates an intense state of focus and "try" that we call the seeking system.
This dopamine release acts like a biological highlighter. It strengthens the synaptic connections in the brain that were active at the precise millisecond of the click. As the horse becomes more adept at a specific behavior and it creates the same involuntary response as the food (classical conditioning). The dopamine spikes the highest when the cue is given because this is when the opportunity for reinforcement presents itself. Because the brain is bathed in dopamine rather than stress hormones, the horse is able to retain the information much faster and with greater clarity. And clarity brings relaxation. He isn't just reacting to a stimulus; he is actively recording a successful strategy for playing the game.
In contrast, traditional training that relies heavily on pressure and release often activates the horse’s amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for the stress response and the release of cortisol. When a horse is working to avoid pressure, his primary goal is safety and the cessation of discomfort. While he can certainly learn this way, his brain is in a state of avoidance. High levels of cortisol can actually interfere with the hippocampus, making it harder for the brain to form long-term, positive memories and decreasing the horse's ability to be creative or bold in his learning.
