Examining the role of dopamine D2 and D3 receptors in Pavlovian conditioned approach behaviors

•Sign-trackers attribute greater incentive salience to a lever-cue than goal-trackers.•Agonism or antagonism of both D2/D3 receptors disrupts sign- and goal-tracking.•Selective antagonism of D3 receptors does not affect sign- or goal-tracking.•D2 receptor signaling is critical for the expression of sign- and goal-tracking.