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Prochnow A, Mückschel M, Eggert E, Senftleben J, Frings C, Münchau A, Roessner V, Bluschke A, Beste C. The Ability to Voluntarily Regulate Theta Band Activity Affects How Pharmacological Manipulation of the Catecholaminergic System Impacts Cognitive Control. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2024; 27:pyae003. [PMID: 38181228 PMCID: PMC10810285 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyae003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The catecholaminergic system influences response inhibition, but the magnitude of the impact of catecholaminergic manipulation is heterogeneous. Theoretical considerations suggest that the voluntary modulability of theta band activity can explain this variance. The study aimed to investigate to what extent interindividual differences in catecholaminergic effects on response inhibition depend on voluntary theta band activity modulation. METHODS A total of 67 healthy adults were tested in a randomized, double-blind, cross-over study design. At each appointment, they received a single dose of methylphenidate or placebo and performed a Go/Nogo task with stimuli of varying complexity. Before the first appointment, the individual's ability to modulate theta band activity was measured. Recorded EEG data were analyzed using temporal decomposition and multivariate pattern analysis. RESULTS Methylphenidate effects and voluntary modulability of theta band activity showed an interactive effect on the false alarm rates of the different Nogo conditions. The multivariate pattern analysis revealed that methylphenidate effects interacted with voluntary modulability of theta band activity at a stimulus processing level, whereas during response selection methylphenidate effects interacted with the complexity of the Nogo condition. CONCLUSIONS The findings reveal that the individual's theta band modulability affects the responsiveness of an individual's catecholaminergic system to pharmacological modulation. Thus, the impact of pharmacological manipulation of the catecholaminergic system on cognitive control most likely depends on the existing ability to self-modulate relevant brain oscillatory patterns underlying the cognitive processes being targeted by pharmacological modulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Prochnow
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- University Neuropsychology Center, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Moritz Mückschel
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- University Neuropsychology Center, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Elena Eggert
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- University Neuropsychology Center, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Jessica Senftleben
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Frings
- Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Alexander Münchau
- Institute of Systems Motor Science, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Veit Roessner
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Annet Bluschke
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- University Neuropsychology Center, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- University Neuropsychology Center, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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Leow LA, Marcos A, Nielsen E, Sewell D, Ballard T, Dux PE, Filmer HL. Dopamine Alters the Effect of Brain Stimulation on Decision-Making. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6909-6919. [PMID: 37648451 PMCID: PMC10573748 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1140-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Noninvasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), show promise in treating a range of psychiatric and neurologic conditions. However, optimization of such applications requires a better understanding of how tDCS alters cognition and behavior. Existing evidence implicates dopamine in tDCS alterations of brain activity and plasticity; however, there is as yet no causal evidence for a role of dopamine in tDCS effects on cognition and behavior. Here, in a preregistered, double-blinded study, we examined how pharmacologically manipulating dopamine altered the effect of tDCS on the speed-accuracy trade-off, which taps ubiquitous strategic operations. Cathodal tDCS was delivered over the left prefrontal cortex and the superior medial frontal cortex before participants (N = 62, 24 males, 38 females) completed a dot-motion task, making judgments on the direction of a field of moving dots under instructions to emphasize speed, accuracy, or both. We leveraged computational modeling to uncover how our interventions altered latent decisional processes driving the speed-accuracy trade-off. We show that dopamine in combination with tDCS (but not tDCS alone nor dopamine alone) not only impaired decision accuracy but also impaired discriminability, which suggests that these manipulations altered the encoding or representation of discriminative evidence. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first direct evidence implicating dopamine in the way tDCS affects cognition and behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT tDCS can improve cognitive and behavioral impairments in clinical conditions; however, a better understanding of its mechanisms is required to optimize future clinical applications. Here, using a pharmacological approach to manipulate brain dopamine levels in healthy adults, we demonstrate a role for dopamine in the effects of tDCS in the speed-accuracy trade-off, a strategic cognitive process ubiquitous in many contexts. In doing so, we provide direct evidence implicating dopamine in the way tDCS affects cognition and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Ann Leow
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Anjeli Marcos
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Esteban Nielsen
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - David Sewell
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Timothy Ballard
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Paul E Dux
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Hannah L Filmer
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
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Lambregts BIHM, Vassena E, Jansen A, Stremmelaar DE, Pickkers P, Kox M, Aarts E, van der Schaaf ME. Fatigue during acute systemic inflammation is associated with reduced mental effort expenditure while task accuracy is preserved. Brain Behav Immun 2023:S0889-1591(23)00131-9. [PMID: 37257522 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Earlier work within the physical domain showed that acute inflammation changes motivational prioritization and effort allocation rather than physical abilities. It is currently unclear whether a similar motivational framework accounts for the mental fatigue and cognitive symptoms of acute sickness. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the relationship between fatigue, cytokines and mental effort-based decision making during acute systemic inflammation. METHODS Eighty-five participants (41 males; 18-30 years (M=23.0, SD=2.4)) performed a mental effort-based decision-making task before, 2 hours after, and 5 hours after intravenous administration of 1 ng/kg bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce systemic inflammation. Plasma concentrations of cytokines (interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)) and fatigue levels were assessed at similar timepoints. In the task, participants decided whether they wanted to perform (i.e., 'accepted') arithmetic calculations of varying difficulty (3 levels: easy, medium, hard) in order to obtain rewards (3 levels: 5, 6 or 7 points). Acceptance rates were analyzed using a binomial generalized estimated equation (GEE) approach with effort, reward and time as independent variables. Arithmetic performance was measured per effort level prior to the decisions and included as a covariate. Associations between acceptance rates, fatigue (self-reported) and cytokine concentrations levels were analyzed using partial correlation analyses. RESULTS Plasma cytokine concentrations and fatigue were increased at 2 hours post-LPS compared to baseline and 5 hours post-LPS administration. Acceptance rates decreased for medium, but not for easy or hard effort levels at 2 hours post-LPS versus baseline and 5 hours post-LPS administration, irrespective of reward level. This reduction in acceptance rates occurred despite improved accuracy on the arithmetic calculations itself. Reduced acceptance rates for medium effort were associated with increased fatigue, but not with increased cytokines. CONCLUSION Fatigue during acute systemic inflammation is associated with alterations in mental effort allocation, similarly as observed previously for physical effort-based choice. Specifically, willingness to exert mental effort depended on effort and not reward information, while task accuracy was preserved. These results extend the motivational account of inflammation to the mental domain and suggest that inflammation may not necessarily affect domain-specific mental abilities, but rather affects domain-general effort-allocation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- B I H M Lambregts
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Postbus 9104, HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - E Vassena
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Postbus 9104, HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute Radboud University Nijmegen Postbus 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - A Jansen
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - D E Stremmelaar
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Postbus 9104, HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - P Pickkers
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - M Kox
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - E Aarts
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Postbus 9104, HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - M E van der Schaaf
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Postbus 9104, HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University Postbus 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands.
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van den Bosch R, Lambregts B, Määttä J, Hofmans L, Papadopetraki D, Westbrook A, Verkes RJ, Booij J, Cools R. Striatal dopamine dissociates methylphenidate effects on value-based versus surprise-based reversal learning. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4962. [PMID: 36002446 PMCID: PMC9402573 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32679-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychostimulants such as methylphenidate are widely used for their cognitive enhancing effects, but there is large variability in the direction and extent of these effects. We tested the hypothesis that methylphenidate enhances or impairs reward/punishment-based reversal learning depending on baseline striatal dopamine levels and corticostriatal gating of reward/punishment-related representations in stimulus-specific sensory cortex. Young healthy adults (N = 100) were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging during a reward/punishment reversal learning task, after intake of methylphenidate or the selective D2/3-receptor antagonist sulpiride. Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity was indexed with [18F]DOPA positron emission tomography. Methylphenidate improved and sulpiride decreased overall accuracy and response speed. Both drugs boosted reward versus punishment learning signals to a greater degree in participants with higher dopamine synthesis capacity. By contrast, striatal and stimulus-specific sensory surprise signals were boosted in participants with lower dopamine synthesis. These results unravel the mechanisms by which methylphenidate gates both attention and reward learning. The mechanisms underpinning the variability in methylphenidate’s effects on cognition remain unclear. Here, the authors show that such effects reflect changes in striatal dopamine-related output gating of task-relevant cortical signals, and that these changes depend on baseline dopamine synthesis capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben van den Bosch
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Britt Lambregts
- Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jessica Määttä
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lieke Hofmans
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Danae Papadopetraki
- Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew Westbrook
- Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences Department, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Robbert-Jan Verkes
- Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Booij
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Medical Imaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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5
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Bogdanov M, LoParco S, Otto AR, Sharp M. Dopaminergic medication increases motivation to exert cognitive control by reducing subjective effort costs in Parkinson's patients. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2022; 193:107652. [PMID: 35724812 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2022.107652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Engaging in demanding mental activities requires the allocation of cognitive control, which can be effortful and aversive. Individuals thus tend to avoid exerting cognitive effort if less demanding behavioral options are available. Recent accounts propose a key role for dopamine in motivating behavior by increasing the sensitivity to rewards associated with effort exertion. Whether dopamine additionally plays a specific role in modulating the sensitivity to the costs of cognitive effort, even in the absence of any incentives, is much less clear. To address this question, we assessed cognitive effort avoidance in patients (n = 38) with Parkinson's disease, a condition characterized by loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, both ON and OFF dopaminergic medication and compared them to healthy controls (n = 24). Effort avoidance was assessed using the Demand Selection Task (DST), in which participants could freely choose between performing a high-demand or a low-demand version of a task-switching paradigm. Critically, participants were not offered any incentives to choose the more effortful option, nor for good performance. While healthy controls and patients OFF their dopaminergic medications consistently preferred the low-demand option, effort avoidance in patients ON dopaminergic medications was reduced compared to patients OFF, a difference which seems to lessen over trials. These differences in preference could not be explained by altered task-switching performance. Although patients ON were less accurate at detecting the different effort levels, as measured during instructed forced-choice blocks, their detection ability was not associated with effort avoidance, unlike in the healthy controls and the patients OFF. Our findings provide evidence that dopamine replacement in Parkinson's patients increases the willingness to engage in cognitively demanding behavior, and that this cannot be explained by possible effects of dopamine replacement on performance nor on the ability to detect effort demands. These results suggest that dopamine plays a role in reducing the sensitivity to effort costs that is independent of its role in enhancing the sensitivity to the benefits of effort exertion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Bogdanov
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal QC H3A 1G1 Canada; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal QC H3A 2B4 Canada.
| | - Sophia LoParco
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal QC H3A 1G1 Canada; Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal QC H3A 1A1 Canada
| | - A Ross Otto
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal QC H3A 1G1 Canada
| | - Madeleine Sharp
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal QC H3A 2B4 Canada
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6
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Hirschbichler ST, Rothwell JC, Manohar SG. Dopamine increases risky choice while D2 blockade shortens decision time. Exp Brain Res 2022; 240:3351-3360. [PMID: 36350356 PMCID: PMC9678996 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-022-06501-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine is crucially involved in decision-making and overstimulation within dopaminergic pathways can lead to impulsive behaviour, including a desire to take risks and reduced deliberation before acting. These behavioural changes are side effects of treatment with dopaminergic drugs in Parkinson disease, but their likelihood of occurrence is difficult to predict and may be influenced by the individual's baseline endogenous dopamine state, and indeed correlate with sensation-seeking personality traits. We here collected data on a standard gambling task in healthy volunteers given either placebo, 2.5 mg of the dopamine antagonist haloperidol or 100/25 mg of the dopamine precursor levodopa in a within-subject design. We found an increase in risky choices on levodopa. Choices were, however, made faster on haloperidol with no effect of levodopa on deliberation time. Shortened deliberation times on haloperidol occurred in low sensation-seekers only, suggesting a correlation between sensation-seeking personality trait and baseline dopamine levels. We hypothesise that levodopa increases risk-taking behaviour via overstimulation at both D1 and D2 receptor level, while a single low dose of haloperidol, as previously reported (Frank and O'Reilly 2006), may block D2 receptors pre- and post-synaptically and may paradoxically lead to higher striatal dopamine acting on remaining striatal D1 receptors, causing speedier decision without influencing risk tolerance. These effects could also fit with a recently proposed computational model of the basal ganglia (Moeller and Bogacz 2019; Moeller et al. 2021). Furthermore, our data suggest that the actual dopaminergic drug effect may be dependent on the individual's baseline dopamine state, which may influence our therapeutic decision as clinicians in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie T. Hirschbichler
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG UK ,Department of Neurology, University Hospital St. Pölten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria ,Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems, Austria
| | - John C. Rothwell
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG UK
| | - Sanjay G. Manohar
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG UK ,Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU UK
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Leng X, Yee D, Ritz H, Shenhav A. Dissociable influences of reward and punishment on adaptive cognitive control. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009737. [PMID: 34962931 PMCID: PMC8746743 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
To invest effort into any cognitive task, people must be sufficiently motivated. Whereas prior research has focused primarily on how the cognitive control required to complete these tasks is motivated by the potential rewards for success, it is also known that control investment can be equally motivated by the potential negative consequence for failure. Previous theoretical and experimental work has yet to examine how positive and negative incentives differentially influence the manner and intensity with which people allocate control. Here, we develop and test a normative model of control allocation under conditions of varying positive and negative performance incentives. Our model predicts, and our empirical findings confirm, that rewards for success and punishment for failure should differentially influence adjustments to the evidence accumulation rate versus response threshold, respectively. This dissociation further enabled us to infer how motivated a given person was by the consequences of success versus failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiamin Leng
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Debbie Yee
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Harrison Ritz
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Amitai Shenhav
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
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Westbrook A, Frank MJ, Cools R. A mosaic of cost-benefit control over cortico-striatal circuitry. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:710-721. [PMID: 34120845 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine contributes to cognitive control through well-established effects in both the striatum and cortex. Although earlier work suggests that dopamine affects cognitive control capacity, more recent work suggests that striatal dopamine may also impact on cognitive motivation. We consider the emerging perspective that striatal dopamine boosts control by making people more sensitive to the benefits versus the costs of cognitive effort, and we discuss how this sensitivity shapes competition between controlled and prepotent actions. We propose that dopamine signaling in distinct cortico-striatal subregions mediates different types of cost-benefit tradeoffs, and also discuss mechanisms for the local control of dopamine release, enabling selectivity among cortico-striatal circuits. In so doing, we show how this cost-benefit mosaic can reconcile seemingly conflicting findings about the impact of dopamine signaling on cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Westbrook
- Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
| | - Michael J Frank
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Fleur DS, Bredeweg B, van den Bos W. Metacognition: ideas and insights from neuro- and educational sciences. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2021; 6:13. [PMID: 34103531 PMCID: PMC8187395 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-021-00089-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Metacognition comprises both the ability to be aware of one's cognitive processes (metacognitive knowledge) and to regulate them (metacognitive control). Research in educational sciences has amassed a large body of evidence on the importance of metacognition in learning and academic achievement. More recently, metacognition has been studied from experimental and cognitive neuroscience perspectives. This research has started to identify brain regions that encode metacognitive processes. However, the educational and neuroscience disciplines have largely developed separately with little exchange and communication. In this article, we review the literature on metacognition in educational and cognitive neuroscience and identify entry points for synthesis. We argue that to improve our understanding of metacognition, future research needs to (i) investigate the degree to which different protocols relate to the similar or different metacognitive constructs and processes, (ii) implement experiments to identify neural substrates necessary for metacognition based on protocols used in educational sciences, (iii) study the effects of training metacognitive knowledge in the brain, and (iv) perform developmental research in the metacognitive brain and compare it with the existing developmental literature from educational sciences regarding the domain-generality of metacognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien S Fleur
- Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Departement of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Bert Bredeweg
- Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Faculty of Education, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Wouter van den Bos
- Departement of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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Effects of methylphenidate on reinforcement learning depend on working memory capacity. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:3569-3584. [PMID: 34676440 PMCID: PMC8629893 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05974-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Brain catecholamines have long been implicated in reinforcement learning, exemplified by catecholamine drug and genetic effects on probabilistic reversal learning. However, the mechanisms underlying such effects are unclear. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS Here we investigated effects of an acute catecholamine challenge with methylphenidate (20 mg, oral) on a novel probabilistic reversal learning paradigm in a within-subject, double-blind randomised design. The paradigm was designed to disentangle effects on punishment avoidance from effects on reward perseveration. Given the known large individual variability in methylphenidate's effects, we stratified our effects by working memory capacity and trait impulsivity, putatively modulating the effects of methylphenidate, in a large sample (n = 102) of healthy volunteers. RESULTS Contrary to our prediction, methylphenidate did not alter performance in the reversal phase of the task. Our key finding is that methylphenidate altered learning of choice-outcome contingencies in a manner that depended on individual variability in working memory span. Specifically, methylphenidate improved performance by adaptively reducing the effective learning rate in participants with higher working memory capacity. CONCLUSIONS This finding emphasises the important role of working memory in reinforcement learning, as reported in influential recent computational modelling and behavioural work, and highlights the dependence of this interplay on catecholaminergic function.
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Manohar SG. Tremor in Parkinson's disease inverts the effect of dopamine on reinforcement. Brain 2020; 143:3178-3180. [PMID: 33278817 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awaa363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This scientific commentary refers to ‘Effects of dopamine on reinforcement learning in Parkinson’s disease depend on motor phenotype’ by van Nuland et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/awaa335).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjay G Manohar
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK
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12
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Hofmans L, Papadopetraki D, van den Bosch R, Määttä JI, Froböse MI, Zandbelt BB, Westbrook A, Verkes RJ, Cools R. Methylphenidate boosts choices of mental labor over leisure depending on striatal dopamine synthesis capacity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2020; 45:2170-2179. [PMID: 32919405 PMCID: PMC7784967 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-00834-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 07/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The cognitive enhancing effects of methylphenidate are well established, but the mechanisms remain unclear. We recently demonstrated that methylphenidate boosts cognitive motivation by enhancing the weight on the benefits of a cognitive task in a manner that depended on striatal dopamine. Here, we considered the complementary hypothesis that methylphenidate might also act by changing the weight on the opportunity cost of a cognitive task, that is, the cost of foregoing alternative opportunity. To this end, 50 healthy participants (25 women) completed a novel cognitive effort-discounting task that required choices between task and leisure. They were tested on methylphenidate, placebo, as well as the selective D2-receptor agent sulpiride, the latter to strengthen inference about dopamine receptor selectivity of methylphenidate's effects. Furthermore, they also underwent an [18F]DOPA PET scan to quantify striatal dopamine synthesis capacity. Methylphenidate boosted choices of cognitive effort over leisure across the group, and this effect was greatest in participants with more striatal dopamine synthesis capacity. The effects of sulpiride did not reach significance. This study strengthens the motivational account of methylphenidate's effects on cognition, and suggests that methylphenidate reduces the cost of mental labor by increasing striatal dopamine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lieke Hofmans
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Danae Papadopetraki
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ruben van den Bosch
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jessica I Määttä
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Monja I Froböse
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Bram B Zandbelt
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew Westbrook
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistics and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Robbert-Jan Verkes
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Forensic Psychiatric Centre Nijmegen, Pompestichting, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Criminal Law, Law School, Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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13
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Tan Y, Hagoort P. Catecholaminergic Modulation of Semantic Processing in Sentence Comprehension. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:6426-6443. [PMID: 32776103 PMCID: PMC7609945 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Catecholamine (CA) function has been widely implicated in cognitive functions that are tied to the prefrontal cortex and striatal areas. The present study investigated the effects of methylphenidate, which is a CA agonist, on the electroencephalogram (EEG) response related to semantic processing using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover, within-subject design. Forty-eight healthy participants read semantically congruent or incongruent sentences after receiving 20-mg methylphenidate or a placebo while their brain activity was monitored with EEG. To probe whether the catecholaminergic modulation is task-dependent, in one condition participants had to focus on comprehending the sentences, while in the other condition, they only had to attend to the font size of the sentence. The results demonstrate that methylphenidate has a task-dependent effect on semantic processing. Compared to placebo, when semantic processing was task-irrelevant, methylphenidate enhanced the detection of semantic incongruence as indexed by a larger N400 amplitude in the incongruent sentences; when semantic processing was task-relevant, methylphenidate induced a larger N400 amplitude in the semantically congruent condition, which was followed by a larger late positive complex effect. These results suggest that CA-related neurotransmitters influence language processing, possibly through the projections between the prefrontal cortex and the striatum, which contain many CA receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Tan
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen 6525 XD, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Hagoort
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen 6525 XD, The Netherlands.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6500 HB, The Netherlands
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14
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Tona KD, Revers H, Verkuil B, Nieuwenhuis S. Noradrenergic Regulation of Cognitive Flexibility: No Effects of Stress, Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation, and Atomoxetine on Task-switching in Humans. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:1881-1895. [PMID: 32644883 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility allows us to adaptively switch between different responsibilities in important domains of our daily life. Previous work has elucidated the neurochemical basis underlying the ability to switch responses to a previously nonreinforced exemplar and to switch between attentional sets. However, the role of neuromodulators in task switching, the ability to rapidly switch between two or more cognitive tasks afforded by the same stimuli, is still poorly understood. We attempted to fill this gap by manipulating norepinephrine levels using stress manipulation (Study 1a, n = 48; between-group design), transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation at two different intensities (Study 1b, n = 48; sham-controlled between-group design), and pharmacological manipulation (Study 2, n = 24; double-blind crossover design), all of which increased salivary cortisol measures. Participants repeatedly switched between two cognitive tasks (classifying a digit as high/low [Task 1] or as odd/even [Task 2]), depending on the preceding cue. On each trial, a cue indicated the task to be performed. The cue-stimulus interval was varied to manipulate the time to prepare for the switch. Participants showed typical switch costs, which decreased with the time available for preparation. None of the manipulations modulated the size of the switch costs or the preparation effect, as supported by frequentist and Bayesian model comparisons. Task-switching performance reflects a complex mix of cognitive control and bottom-up dynamics of task-set representations. Our findings suggest that norepinephrine does not affect either of these aspects of cognitive flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Bart Verkuil
- Leiden University.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition
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15
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Westbrook A, van den Bosch R, Määttä JI, Hofmans L, Papadopetraki D, Cools R, Frank MJ. Dopamine promotes cognitive effort by biasing the benefits versus costs of cognitive work. Science 2020; 367:1362-1366. [PMID: 32193325 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz5891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Stimulants such as methylphenidate are increasingly used for cognitive enhancement but precise mechanisms are unknown. We found that methylphenidate boosts willingness to expend cognitive effort by altering the benefit-to-cost ratio of cognitive work. Willingness to expend effort was greater for participants with higher striatal dopamine synthesis capacity, whereas methylphenidate and sulpiride, a selective D2 receptor antagonist, increased cognitive motivation more for participants with lower synthesis capacity. A sequential sampling model informed by momentary gaze revealed that decisions to expend effort are related to amplification of benefit-versus-cost information attended early in the decision process, whereas the effect of benefits is strengthened with higher synthesis capacity and by methylphenidate. These findings demonstrate that methylphenidate boosts the perceived benefits versus costs of cognitive effort by modulating striatal dopamine signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Westbrook
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. .,Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - R van den Bosch
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - J I Määttä
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - L Hofmans
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - D Papadopetraki
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - R Cools
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - M J Frank
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.,Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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16
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Froböse MI, Westbrook A, Bloemendaal M, Aarts E, Cools R. Catecholaminergic modulation of the cost of cognitive control in healthy older adults. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229294. [PMID: 32084218 PMCID: PMC7034873 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Catecholamines have long been associated with cognitive control and value-based decision-making. More recently, we have shown that catecholamines also modulate value-based decision-making about whether or not to engage in cognitive control. Yet it is unclear whether catecholamines influence these decisions by altering the subjective value of control. Thus, we tested whether tyrosine, a catecholamine precursor altered the subjective value of performing a demanding working memory task among healthy older adults (60-75 years). Contrary to our prediction, tyrosine administration did not significantly increase the subjective value of conducting an N-back task for reward, as a main effect. Instead, in line with our previous study, exploratory analyses indicated that drug effects varied as a function of participants' trait impulsivity scores. Specifically, tyrosine increased the subjective value of conducting an N-back task in low impulsive participants, while reducing its value in more impulsive participants. One implication of these findings is that the over-the-counter tyrosine supplements may be accompanied by an undermining effect on the motivation to perform demanding cognitive tasks, at least in certain older adults. Taken together, these findings indicate that catecholamines can alter cognitive control by modulating motivation (rather than just the ability) to exert cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monja I. Froböse
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Andrew Westbrook
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States of America
| | - Mirjam Bloemendaal
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Esther Aarts
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Dept Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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17
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Grahek I, Musslick S, Shenhav A. A computational perspective on the roles of affect in cognitive control. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 151:25-34. [PMID: 32032624 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Previous work has demonstrated that cognitive control can be influenced by affect, both when it is tied to the anticipated outcomes for cognitive performance (integral affect) and when affect is induced independently of performance (incidental affect). However, the mechanisms through which such interactions occur remain debated, in part because they have yet to be formalized in a way that allows experimenters to test quantitative predictions of a putative mechanism. To generate such predictions, we leveraged a recent model that determines cognitive control allocation by weighing potential costs and benefits in order to determine the overall Expected Value of Control (EVC). We simulated potential accounts of how integral and incidental affect might influence this valuation process, including whether incidental positive affect influences how difficult one perceives a task to be, how effortful it feels to exert control, and/or the marginal utility of succeeding at the task. We find that each of these accounts makes dissociable predictions regarding affect's influence on control allocation and measures of task performance (e.g., conflict adaptation, switch costs). We discuss these findings in light of the existing empirical findings and theoretical models. Collectively, this work grounds existing theories regarding affect-control interactions, and provides a method by which specific predictions of such accounts can be confirmed or refuted based on empirical data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Grahek
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Sebastian Musslick
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 07001, USA
| | - Amitai Shenhav
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Science and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
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18
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Baas M, Boot N, van Gaal S, de Dreu CK, Cools R. Methylphenidate does not affect convergent and divergent creative processes in healthy adults. Neuroimage 2020; 205:116279. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
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19
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Cook JL, Swart JC, Froböse MI, Diaconescu AO, Geurts DEM, den Ouden HEM, Cools R. Catecholaminergic modulation of meta-learning. eLife 2019; 8:e51439. [PMID: 31850844 PMCID: PMC6974360 DOI: 10.7554/elife.51439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The remarkable expedience of human learning is thought to be underpinned by meta-learning, whereby slow accumulative learning processes are rapidly adjusted to the current learning environment. To date, the neurobiological implementation of meta-learning remains unclear. A burgeoning literature argues for an important role for the catecholamines dopamine and noradrenaline in meta-learning. Here, we tested the hypothesis that enhancing catecholamine function modulates the ability to optimise a meta-learning parameter (learning rate) as a function of environmental volatility. 102 participants completed a task which required learning in stable phases, where the probability of reinforcement was constant, and volatile phases, where probabilities changed every 10-30 trials. The catecholamine transporter blocker methylphenidate enhanced participants' ability to adapt learning rate: Under methylphenidate, compared with placebo, participants exhibited higher learning rates in volatile relative to stable phases. Furthermore, this effect was significant only with respect to direct learning based on the participants' own experience, there was no significant effect on inferred-value learning where stimulus values had to be inferred. These data demonstrate a causal link between catecholaminergic modulation and the adjustment of the meta-learning parameter learning rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Cook
- School of PsychologyUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Jennifer C Swart
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive NeuroimagingRadboud UniversityNijmegenNetherlands
| | - Monja I Froböse
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive NeuroimagingRadboud UniversityNijmegenNetherlands
| | - Andreea O Diaconescu
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of Zurich and ETH ZurichZurichSwitzerland
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of BaselBaselSwitzerland
- Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics,CAMHUniversity of TorontoTorontoCanada
| | - Dirk EM Geurts
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive NeuroimagingRadboud UniversityNijmegenNetherlands
- Department of PsychiatryRadboud University Medical CentreNijmegenNetherlands
| | - Hanneke EM den Ouden
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive NeuroimagingRadboud UniversityNijmegenNetherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive NeuroimagingRadboud UniversityNijmegenNetherlands
- Department of PsychiatryRadboud University Medical CentreNijmegenNetherlands
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20
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Vassena E, Van Opstal F, Goethals I, Verguts T. Striatal dopamine D2 binding correlates with locus of control: Preliminary evidence from [ 11C]raclopride Positron Emission Tomography. Int J Psychophysiol 2019; 146:117-124. [PMID: 31644932 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Revised: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The ability to exert control has been widely investigated as a hallmark of adaptive behaviour. Dopamine is recognized as the key neuromodulator mediating various control-related processes. The neural mechanisms underlying the subjective perception of being in control, or Locus of Control (LOC) are however less clear. LOC indicates the subjective tendency to attribute environmental outcomes to one's actions (internal LOC) or instead to external incontrollable factors (external LOC). Here we hypothesized that dopamine levels also relate to LOC. Previous work shows that dopamine signaling mediates learning of action-outcome relationships, outcome predictability, and opportunity cost. Prominent theories propose dopamine dysregulation as the key pathogenetic mechanism in schizophrenia and depression. Critically, external LOC is a risk factor for schizophrenia and depression, and predicts increased vulnerability to stress. However, a direct link between LOC and dopamine levels in healthy control had not been demonstrated. The purpose of our study was to investigate this link. Using [11C]raclopride Positron Emission Tomography we tested the relationship between D2 receptor binding in the striatum and LOC (measured with the Rotter Locus of Control scale) in 15 healthy volunteers. Our results show a large and positive correlation: increased striatal D2 binding was associated with External LOC. This finding opens promising avenues for the study of several psychological impairments that have been associated with both dopamine and LOC, such as addiction, schizophrenia, and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eliana Vassena
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands; Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
| | - Filip Van Opstal
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Tom Verguts
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
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21
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Cools R. Chemistry of the Adaptive Mind: Lessons from Dopamine. Neuron 2019; 104:113-131. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Revised: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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22
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Cools R, Froböse M, Aarts E, Hofmans L. Dopamine and the motivation of cognitive control. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2019; 163:123-143. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-804281-6.00007-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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