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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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2
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Jansen M, Lockwood PL, Cutler J, de Bruijn ERA. l-DOPA and oxytocin influence the neurocomputational mechanisms of self-benefitting and prosocial reinforcement learning. Neuroimage 2023; 270:119983. [PMID: 36848972 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans learn through reinforcement, particularly when outcomes are unexpected. Recent research suggests similar mechanisms drive how we learn to benefit other people, that is, how we learn to be prosocial. Yet the neurochemical mechanisms underlying such prosocial computations remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether pharmacological manipulation of oxytocin and dopamine influence the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying self-benefitting and prosocial reinforcement learning. Using a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design, we administered intranasal oxytocin (24 IU), dopamine precursor l-DOPA (100 mg + 25 mg carbidopa), or placebo over three sessions. Participants performed a probabilistic reinforcement learning task with potential rewards for themselves, another participant, or no one, during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Computational models of reinforcement learning were used to calculate prediction errors (PEs) and learning rates. Participants behavior was best explained by a model with different learning rates for each recipient, but these were unaffected by either drug. On the neural level, however, both drugs blunted PE signaling in the ventral striatum and led to negative signaling of PEs in the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal gyrus, and precentral gyrus, compared to placebo, and regardless of recipient. Oxytocin (versus placebo) administration was additionally associated with opposing tracking of self-benefitting versus prosocial PEs in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, insula and superior temporal gyrus. These findings suggest that both l-DOPA and oxytocin induce a context-independent shift from positive towards negative tracking of PEs during learning. Moreover, oxytocin may have opposing effects on PE signaling when learning to benefit oneself versus another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myrthe Jansen
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, the Netherlands.
| | - Patricia L Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Centre for Developmental Science, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK
| | - Jo Cutler
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Centre for Developmental Science, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK
| | - Ellen R A de Bruijn
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, the Netherlands
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3
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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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4
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Kimura K, Kanayama N, Toyama A, Katahira K. Cardiac Cycle Affects the Asymmetric Value Updating in Instrumental Reward Learning. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:889440. [PMID: 35720717 PMCID: PMC9201078 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.889440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate whether instrumental reward learning is affected by the cardiac cycle. To this end, we examined the effects of the cardiac cycle (systole or diastole) on the computational processes underlying the participants’ choices in the instrumental learning task. In the instrumental learning task, participants were required to select one of two discriminative stimuli (neutral visual stimuli) and immediately receive reward/punishment feedback depending on the probability assigned to the chosen stimuli. To manipulate the cardiac cycle, the presentation of discriminative stimuli was timed to coincide with either cardiac systole or diastole. We fitted the participants’ choices in the task with reinforcement learning (RL) models and estimated parameters involving instrumental learning (i.e., learning rate and inverse temperature) separately in the systole and diastole trials. Model-based analysis revealed that the learning rate for positive prediction errors was higher than that for negative prediction errors in the systole trials; however, learning rates did not differ between positive and negative prediction errors in the diastole trials. These results demonstrate that the natural fluctuation of cardiac afferent signals can affect asymmetric value updating in instrumental reward learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenta Kimura
- Human Informatics and Interaction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
- *Correspondence: Kenta Kimura,
| | - Noriaki Kanayama
- Human Informatics and Interaction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Asako Toyama
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of the Humanities, Senshu University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kentaro Katahira
- Human Informatics and Interaction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
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5
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van der Schaaf ME, Schmidt K, Kaur J, Gamer M, Wiech K, Forkmann K, Bingel U. Acquisition learning is stronger for aversive than appetitive events. Commun Biol 2022; 5:302. [PMID: 35379893 PMCID: PMC8979974 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03234-x] [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: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Appetitive and aversive learning are both key building blocks of adaptive behavior, yet knowledge regarding their differences is sparse. Using a capsaicin heat pain model in 36 healthy participants, this study directly compared the acquisition and extinction of conditioned stimuli (CS) predicting pain exacerbation and relief. Valence ratings show stronger acquisition during aversive compared to appetitive learning, but no differences in extinction. Skin conductance responses and contingency ratings confirmed these results. Findings were unrelated to individual differences in pain sensitivity or psychological factors. Our results support the notion of an evolutionarily hardwired preponderance to acquire aversive rather than appetitive cues as is protective for acute aversive states such as pain but may contribute to the development and maintenance of clinical conditions such as chronic pain, depression or anxiety disorders. In this study, acquisition and extinction of conditioned stimuli are compared in a capsaicin heat pain paradigm in healthy human participants. The results demonstrate a preponderance to acquire aversive rather than appetitive cues, which could initially have a protective function but eventually contribute to the maintenance of chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marieke E van der Schaaf
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain Behaviour and Cognition, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Katharina Schmidt
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany.
| | - Jaspreet Kaur
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Matthias Gamer
- Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Katja Wiech
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
| | - Katarina Forkmann
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Ulrike Bingel
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
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6
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Cools R, Tichelaar JG, Helmich RCG, Bloem BR, Esselink RAJ, Smulders K, Timmer MHM. Role of dopamine and clinical heterogeneity in cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2022; 269:309-343. [PMID: 35248200 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is commonly treated with dopaminergic medication, which enhances some, while impairing other cognitive functions. It can even contribute to impulse control disorder and addiction. We describe the history of research supporting the dopamine overdose hypothesis, which accounts for the large within-patient variability in dopaminergic medication effects across different tasks by referring to the spatially non-uniform pattern of dopamine depletion in dorsal versus ventral striatum. However, there is tremendous variability in dopaminergic medication effects not just within patients across distinct tasks, but also across different patients. In the second part of this chapter we review recent studies addressing the large individual variability in the negative side effects of dopaminergic medication on functions that implicate dopamine, such as value-based learning and choice. These studies begin to unravel the mechanisms of dopamine overdosing, thus revising the strict version of the overdose hypothesis. For example, the work shows that the canonical boosting of reward-versus punishment-based choice by medication is greater in patients with depression and a non-tremor phenotype, which both implicate, among other pathology, more rather than less severe dysregulation of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Future longitudinal cohort studies are needed to identify how to optimally combine different clinical, personality, cognitive, neural, genetic and molecular predictors of detrimental medication effects in order to account for as much of the relevant variability as possible. This will provide a useful tool for precision neurology, allowing individual and contextual tailoring of (the dose of) dopaminergic medication in order to maximize its cognitive benefits, yet minimize its side effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roshan Cools
- Radboud university medical center, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Jorryt G Tichelaar
- Radboud university medical center, Department of Neurology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Rick C G Helmich
- Radboud university medical center, Department of Neurology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Bastiaan R Bloem
- Radboud university medical center, Department of Neurology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Rianne A J Esselink
- Radboud university medical center, Department of Neurology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Katrijn Smulders
- Radboud university medical center, Department of Neurology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Monique H M Timmer
- Radboud university medical center, Department of Neurology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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7
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Phasic Dopamine Changes and Hebbian Mechanisms during Probabilistic Reversal Learning in Striatal Circuits: A Computational Study. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23073452. [PMID: 35408811 PMCID: PMC8998230 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23073452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility is essential to modify our behavior in a non-stationary environment and is often explored by reversal learning tasks. The basal ganglia (BG) dopaminergic system, under a top-down control of the pre-frontal cortex, is known to be involved in flexible action selection through reinforcement learning. However, how adaptive dopamine changes regulate this process and learning mechanisms for training the striatal synapses remain open questions. The current study uses a neurocomputational model of the BG, based on dopamine-dependent direct (Go) and indirect (NoGo) pathways, to investigate reinforcement learning in a probabilistic environment through a task that associates different stimuli to different actions. Here, we investigated: the efficacy of several versions of the Hebb rule, based on covariance between pre- and post-synaptic neurons, as well as the required control in phasic dopamine changes crucial to achieving a proper reversal learning. Furthermore, an original mechanism for modulating the phasic dopamine changes is proposed, assuming that the expected reward probability is coded by the activity of the winner Go neuron before a reward/punishment takes place. Simulations show that this original formulation for an automatic phasic dopamine control allows the achievement of a good flexible reversal even in difficult conditions. The current outcomes may contribute to understanding the mechanisms for active control of dopamine changes during flexible behavior. In perspective, it may be applied in neuropsychiatric or neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s or schizophrenia, in which reinforcement learning is impaired.
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8
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Cools R, Arnsten AFT. Neuromodulation of prefrontal cortex cognitive function in primates: the powerful roles of monoamines and acetylcholine. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:309-328. [PMID: 34312496 PMCID: PMC8617291 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01100-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) subserves our highest order cognitive operations, and yet is tremendously dependent on a precise neurochemical environment for proper functioning. Depletion of noradrenaline and dopamine, or of acetylcholine from the dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC), is as devastating as removing the cortex itself, and serotonergic influences are also critical to proper functioning of the orbital and medial PFC. Most neuromodulators have a narrow inverted U dose response, which coordinates arousal state with cognitive state, and contributes to cognitive deficits with fatigue or uncontrollable stress. Studies in monkeys have revealed the molecular signaling mechanisms that govern the generation and modulation of mental representations by the dlPFC, allowing dynamic regulation of network strength, a process that requires tight regulation to prevent toxic actions, e.g., as occurs with advanced age. Brain imaging studies in humans have observed drug and genotype influences on a range of cognitive tasks and on PFC circuit functional connectivity, e.g., showing that catecholamines stabilize representations in a baseline-dependent manner. Research in monkeys has already led to new treatments for cognitive disorders in humans, encouraging future research in this important field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roshan Cools
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Amy F T Arnsten
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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9
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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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10
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Kapetaniou GE, Reinhard MA, Christian P, Jobst A, Tobler PN, Padberg F, Soutschek A. The role of oxytocin in delay of gratification and flexibility in non-social decision making. eLife 2021; 10:e61844. [PMID: 33821797 PMCID: PMC8024008 DOI: 10.7554/elife.61844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin is well-known for its impact on social cognition. This specificity for the social domain, however, has been challenged by findings suggesting a domain-general allostatic function for oxytocin by promoting future-oriented and flexible behavior. In this pre-registered study, we tested the hypothesized domain-general function of oxytocin by assessing the impact of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) on core aspects of human social (inequity aversion) and non-social decision making (delay of gratification and cognitive flexibility) in 49 healthy volunteers (within-subject design). In intertemporal choice, patience was higher under oxytocin than under placebo, although this difference was evident only when restricting the analysis to the first experimental session (between-group comparison) due to carry-over effects. Further, oxytocin increased cognitive flexibility in reversal learning as well as generosity under conditions of advantageous but not disadvantageous inequity. Our findings show that oxytocin affects both social and non-social decision making, supporting theoretical accounts of domain-general functions of oxytocin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Eleni Kapetaniou
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
- Graduate School for Systemic Neurosciences, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
| | - Matthias A Reinhard
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
| | - Patricia Christian
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
- Graduate School for Systemic Neurosciences, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
| | - Andrea Jobst
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Frank Padberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
| | - Alexander Soutschek
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
- Graduate School for Systemic Neurosciences, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University MunichMunichGermany
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11
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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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12
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Iglesias S, Kasper L, Harrison SJ, Manka R, Mathys C, Stephan KE. Cholinergic and dopaminergic effects on prediction error and uncertainty responses during sensory associative learning. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117590. [PMID: 33285332 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Revised: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Navigating the physical world requires learning probabilistic associations between sensory events and their change in time (volatility). Bayesian accounts of this learning process rest on hierarchical prediction errors (PEs) that are weighted by estimates of uncertainty (or its inverse, precision). In a previous fMRI study we found that low-level precision-weighted PEs about visual outcomes (that update beliefs about associations) activated the putative dopaminergic midbrain; by contrast, precision-weighted PEs about cue-outcome associations (that update beliefs about volatility) activated the cholinergic basal forebrain. These findings suggested selective dopaminergic and cholinergic influences on precision-weighted PEs at different hierarchical levels. Here, we tested this hypothesis, repeating our fMRI study under pharmacological manipulations in healthy participants. Specifically, we performed two pharmacological fMRI studies with a between-subject double-blind placebo-controlled design: study 1 used antagonists of dopaminergic (amisulpride) and muscarinic (biperiden) receptors, study 2 used enhancing drugs of dopaminergic (levodopa) and cholinergic (galantamine) modulation. Pooled across all pharmacological conditions of study 1 and study 2, respectively, we found that low-level precision-weighted PEs activated the midbrain and high-level precision-weighted PEs the basal forebrain as in our previous study. However, we found pharmacological effects on brain activity associated with these computational quantities only when splitting the precision-weighted PEs into their PE and precision components: in a brainstem region putatively containing cholinergic (pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental) nuclei, biperiden (compared to placebo) enhanced low-level PE responses and attenuated high-level PE activity, while amisulpride reduced high-level PE responses. Additionally, in the putative dopaminergic midbrain, galantamine compared to placebo enhanced low-level PE responses (in a body-weight dependent manner) and amisulpride enhanced high-level precision activity. Task behaviour was not affected by any of the drugs. These results do not support our hypothesis of a clear-cut dichotomy between different hierarchical inference levels and neurotransmitter systems, but suggest a more complex interaction between these neuromodulatory systems and hierarchical Bayesian quantities. However, our present results may have been affected by confounds inherent to pharmacological fMRI. We discuss these confounds and outline improved experimental tests for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Iglesias
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Lars Kasper
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Samuel J Harrison
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robert Manka
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Mathys
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Klaas E Stephan
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany
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13
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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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14
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Using pharmacological manipulations to study the role of dopamine in human reward functioning: A review of studies in healthy adults. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 120:123-158. [PMID: 33202256 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) plays a key role in reward processing and is implicated in psychological disorders such as depression, substance use, and schizophrenia. The role of DA in reward processing is an area of highly active research. One approach to this question is drug challenge studies with drugs known to alter DA function. These studies provide good experimental control and can be performed in parallel in laboratory animals and humans. This review aimed to summarize results of studies using pharmacological manipulations of DA in healthy adults. 'Reward' is a complex process, so we separated 'phases' of reward, including anticipation, evaluation of cost and benefits of upcoming reward, execution of actions to obtain reward, pleasure in response to receiving a reward, and reward learning. Results indicated that i) DAergic drugs have different effects on different phases of reward; ii) the relationship between DA and reward functioning appears unlikely to be linear; iii) our ability to detect the effects of DAergic drugs varies depending on whether subjective, behavioral, imaging measures are used.
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15
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Brolsma SCA, Vassena E, Vrijsen JN, Sescousse G, Collard RM, van Eijndhoven PF, Schene AH, Cools R. Negative Learning Bias in Depression Revisited: Enhanced Neural Response to Surprising Reward Across Psychiatric Disorders. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2020; 6:280-289. [PMID: 33082119 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior work has proposed that major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with a specific cognitive bias: patients with depression seem to learn more from punishment than from reward. This learning bias has been associated with blunting of reward-related neural responses in the striatum. A key question is whether negative learning bias is also present in patients with MDD and comorbid disorders and whether this bias is specific to depression or shared across disorders. METHODS We employed a transdiagnostic approach assessing a heterogeneous group of (nonpsychotic) psychiatric patients from the MIND-Set (Measuring Integrated Novel Dimensions in Neurodevelopmental and Stress-Related Mental Disorders) cohort with and without MDD but also with anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and/or autism (n = 66) and healthy control subjects (n = 24). To investigate reward and punishment learning, we employed a deterministic reversal learning task with functional magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS In contrast to previous studies, patients with MDD did not exhibit impaired reward learning or reduced reward-related neural activity anywhere in the brain. Interestingly, we observed consistently increased neural responses in the bilateral lateral prefrontal cortex of patients when they received a surprising reward. This increase was not specific to MDD, but generalized to anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and autism. Critically, increased prefrontal activity to surprising reward scaled with transdiagnostic symptom severity, particularly that associated with concentration and attention, as well as the number of diagnoses; patients with more comorbidities showed a stronger prefrontal response to surprising reward. CONCLUSIONS Prefrontal enhancement may reflect compensatory working memory recruitment, possibly to counteract the inability to swiftly update reward expectations. This neural mechanism may provide a candidate transdiagnostic index of psychiatric severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie C A Brolsma
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Eliana Vassena
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Janna N Vrijsen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Depression Expertise Centre, Pro Persona Mental Health Care, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Guillaume Sescousse
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Lyon, France
| | - Rose M Collard
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Phillip F van Eijndhoven
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Aart H Schene
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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16
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Dopaminergic D 1 Receptor Stimulation Affects Effort and Risk Preferences. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 87:678-685. [PMID: 31668477 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Activation of D1 receptors has been related to successful goal-directed behavior, but it remains unclear whether D1 receptor activation causally tips the balance of weighing costs and benefits in humans. Here, we tested the impact of pharmacologically stimulated D1 receptors on sensitivity to risk, delay, and effort costs in economic choice and investigated whether D1 receptor stimulation would bias preferences toward options with increased costs in a cost-specific manner. METHODS In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group phase 1 study, 120 healthy young volunteers received either placebo or 1 of 3 doses (6 mg, 15 mg, or 30 mg) of a novel, selective D1 agonist (PF-06412562). After drug administration, participants performed decision tasks measuring their preferences for risky, delayed, and effortful outcomes. RESULTS Higher doses of the D1 agonist increased the willingness to exert physical effort for reward as well as reduced the preference for risky outcomes. We observed no effects on preferences for delayed rewards. CONCLUSIONS The current results provide evidence that D1 receptor stimulation causally affects core aspects of cost-benefit decision making in humans.
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17
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Soutschek A, Kozak R, de Martinis N, Howe W, Burke CJ, Fehr E, Jetter A, Tobler PN. Activation of D1 receptors affects human reactivity and flexibility to valued cues. Neuropsychopharmacology 2020; 45:780-785. [PMID: 31962344 PMCID: PMC7075935 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-0617-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Reward-predicting cues motivate goal-directed behavior, but in unstable environments humans must also be able to flexibly update cue-reward associations. While the capacity of reward cues to trigger motivation ('reactivity') as well as flexibility in cue-reward associations have been linked to the neurotransmitter dopamine in humans, the specific contribution of the dopamine D1 receptor family to these behaviors remained elusive. To fill this gap, we conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind pharmacological study testing the impact of three different doses of a novel D1 agonist (relative to placebo) on reactivity to reward-predicting cues (Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer) and flexibility of cue-outcome associations (reversal learning). We observed that the impact of the D1 agonist crucially depended on baseline working memory functioning, which has been identified as a proxy for baseline dopamine synthesis capacity. Specifically, increasing D1 receptor stimulation strengthened Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer in individuals with high baseline working memory capacity. In contrast, higher doses of the D1 agonist improved reversal learning only in individuals with low baseline working memory functioning. Our findings suggest a crucial and baseline-dependent role of D1 receptor activation in controlling both cue reactivity and the flexibility of cue-reward associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Soutschek
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany. .,Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Rouba Kozak
- 0000 0004 0447 7762grid.419849.9Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, Cambridge, MA USA
| | | | - William Howe
- 0000 0001 0694 4940grid.438526.eSchool of Neuroscience, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA USA
| | - Christopher J. Burke
- 0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ernst Fehr
- 0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ,Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alexander Jetter
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Philippe N. Tobler
- 0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ,Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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18
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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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19
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McCoy B, Jahfari S, Engels G, Knapen T, Theeuwes J. Dopaminergic medication reduces striatal sensitivity to negative outcomes in Parkinson's disease. Brain 2019; 142:3605-3620. [PMID: 31603493 PMCID: PMC6821230 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 07/13/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Reduced levels of dopamine in Parkinson's disease contribute to changes in learning, resulting from the loss of midbrain neurons that transmit a dopaminergic teaching signal to the striatum. Dopamine medication used by patients with Parkinson's disease has previously been linked to behavioural changes during learning as well as to adjustments in value-based decision-making after learning. To date, however, little is known about the specific relationship between dopaminergic medication-driven differences during learning and subsequent changes in approach/avoidance tendencies in individual patients. Twenty-four Parkinson's disease patients ON and OFF dopaminergic medication and 24 healthy controls subjects underwent functional MRI while performing a probabilistic reinforcement learning experiment. During learning, dopaminergic medication reduced an overemphasis on negative outcomes. Medication reduced negative (but not positive) outcome learning rates, while concurrent striatal blood oxygen level-dependent responses showed reduced prediction error sensitivity. Medication-induced shifts in negative learning rates were predictive of changes in approach/avoidance choice patterns after learning, and these changes were accompanied by systematic striatal blood oxygen level-dependent response alterations. These findings elucidate the role of dopamine-driven learning differences in Parkinson's disease, and show how these changes during learning impact subsequent value-based decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brónagh McCoy
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sara Jahfari
- Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Royal Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gwenda Engels
- Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tomas Knapen
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Royal Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Theeuwes
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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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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Fallon SJ, Kienast A, Muhammed K, Ang YS, Manohar SG, Husain M. Dopamine D2 receptor stimulation modulates the balance between ignoring and updating according to baseline working memory ability. J Psychopharmacol 2019; 33:1254-1263. [PMID: 31526206 DOI: 10.1177/0269881119872190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Working memory (WM) deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders have often been attributed to altered dopaminergic signalling. Specifically, D2 receptor stimulation is thought to affect the ease with which items can be gated into and out of WM. In addition, this effect has been hypothesised to vary according to baseline WM ability, a putative index of dopamine synthesis levels. Moreover, whether D2 stimulation affects WM vicariously through modulating relatively WM-free cognitive control processes has not been explored. AIMS We examined the effect of administering a dopamine agonist on the ability to ignore or update information in WM. METHOD A single dose of cabergoline (1 mg) was administered to healthy older adult humans in a within-subject, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. In addition, we obtained measures of baseline WM ability and relatively WM-free cognitive control (overcoming response conflict). RESULTS Consistent with predictions, baseline WM ability significantly modulated the effect that drug administration had on the proficiency of ignoring and updating. High-WM individuals were relatively better at ignoring compared to updating after drug administration. Whereas the opposite occurred in low-WM individuals. Although the ability to overcome response conflict was not affected by cabergoline, a negative relationship between the effect the drug had on response conflict performance and ignoring was observed. Thus, both response conflict and ignoring are coupled to dopaminergic stimulation levels. CONCLUSIONS Cumulatively, these results provide evidence that dopamine affects subcomponents of cognitive control in a diverse, antagonistic fashion and that the direction of these effects is dependent upon baseline WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean James Fallon
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Annika Kienast
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Kinan Muhammed
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Yuen-Siang Ang
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sanjay G Manohar
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Masud Husain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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22
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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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23
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Executive (dys)function after traumatic brain injury: special considerations for behavioral pharmacology. Behav Pharmacol 2019; 29:617-637. [PMID: 30215621 PMCID: PMC6155367 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Executive function is an umbrella term that includes cognitive processes such as decision-making, impulse control, attention, behavioral flexibility, and working memory. Each of these processes depends largely upon monoaminergic (dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic) neurotransmission in the frontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampus, among other brain areas. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces disruptions in monoaminergic signaling along several steps in the neurotransmission process - synthesis, distribution, and breakdown - and in turn, produces long-lasting deficits in several executive function domains. Understanding how TBI alters monoamingeric neurotransmission and executive function will advance basic knowledge of the underlying principles that govern executive function and potentially further treatment of cognitive deficits following such injury. In this review, we examine the influence of TBI on the following measures of executive function - impulsivity, behavioral flexibility, and working memory. We also describe monoaminergic-systems changes following TBI. Given that TBI patients experience alterations in monoaminergic signaling following injury, they may represent a unique population with regard to pharmacotherapy. We conclude this review by discussing some considerations for pharmacotherapy in the field of TBI.
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24
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Albein-Urios N, Chase H, Clark L, Kirkovski M, Davies C, Enticott PG. Increased perseverative errors following high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation over the ventrolateral cortex during probabilistic reversal learning. Brain Stimul 2019; 12:959-966. [PMID: 30833215 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2019.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The prefrontal cortex regulates behavioural adaptation in response to feedback. However, the causal role of different prefrontal regions remains unclear, based on indirect evidence derived from functional neuroimaging. Neuroimaging studies show dorsomedial prefrontal activation during feedback monitoring, whereas the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex engages during behavioural adaptation (shifting). OBJECTIVE We used high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to elucidate the roles of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in behaviour change, using a probabilistic reversal learning task (PRLT). METHOD Fifty-two healthy adults were randomly assigned to receive cathodal HD-tDCS to inhibit the vlPFC or the dmPFC versus sham stimulation, prior to completing the PRLT. The outcome measures were the number of perseverative errors and the electroencephalography (EEG) signals of feedback-related negativity (FRN) in the PRLT. We hypothesised that inhibition of the vlPFC would be specifically associated with more perseverative errors and weaker FRNs. RESULTS We found that vlPFC inhibition was associated with higher perseverative errors compared to sham and dmPFC stimulation conditions. Although there were no statistically significant differences in FRN amplitudes, the effect sizes indicate an association between inhibition of the vlPFC and lower FRN amplitudes. CONCLUSION Our findings support a causal role of the vlPFC on feedback-based behavioural adaptation, which is critical for adaptive goal-driven behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Albein-Urios
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Henry Chase
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Luke Clark
- Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Melissa Kirkovski
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Charlotte Davies
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Peter G Enticott
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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Mizoguchi H, Wang T, Kusaba M, Fukumoto K, Yamada K. Nicotine and varenicline ameliorate changes in reward-based choice strategy and altered decision-making in methamphetamine-treated rats. Behav Brain Res 2019; 359:935-941. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2018] [Revised: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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26
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Why would Parkinson's disease lead to sudden changes in creativity, motivation, or style with visual art?: A review of case evidence and new neurobiological, contextual, and genetic hypotheses. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 100:129-165. [PMID: 30629980 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a devastating diagnosis with, however, potential for an extremely intriguing aesthetic component. Despite motor and cognitive deficits, an emerging collection of studies report a burst of visual artistic output and alterations in produced art in a subgroup of patients. This provides a unique window into the neurophysiological bases for why and how we might create and enjoy visual art, as well as into general brain function and the nature of PD or other neurodegenerative diseases. However, there has not been a comprehensive organization of literature on this topic. Nor has there been an attempt to connect case evidence and knowledge on PD with present understanding of visual art making in psychology and neuroaesthetics in order to propose hypotheses for documented artistic changes. Here, we collect the current research on this topic, tie this to PD symptoms and neurobiology, and provide new theories focusing on dopaminergic neuron damage, over-stimulation from dopamine agonist therapy, and context or genetic factors revealing the neurobiological basis of the visual artistic brain.
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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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28
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Girotti M, Adler SM, Bulin SE, Fucich EA, Paredes D, Morilak DA. Prefrontal cortex executive processes affected by stress in health and disease. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 85:161-179. [PMID: 28690203 PMCID: PMC5756532 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2017] [Revised: 07/01/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Prefrontal cortical executive functions comprise a number of cognitive capabilities necessary for goal directed behavior and adaptation to a changing environment. Executive dysfunction that leads to maladaptive behavior and is a symptom of psychiatric pathology can be instigated or exacerbated by stress. In this review we survey research addressing the impact of stress on executive function, with specific focus on working memory, attention, response inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. We then consider the neurochemical pathways underlying these cognitive capabilities and, where known, how stress alters them. Finally, we review work exploring potential pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches that can ameliorate deficits in executive function. Both preclinical and clinical literature indicates that chronic stress negatively affects executive function. Although some of the circuitry and neurochemical processes underlying executive function have been characterized, a great deal is still unknown regarding how stress affects these processes. Additional work focusing on this question is needed in order to make progress on developing interventions that ameliorate executive dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Girotti
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
| | - Samantha M Adler
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
| | - Sarah E Bulin
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Fucich
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
| | - Denisse Paredes
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
| | - David A Morilak
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
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29
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Clos M, Sommer T, Schneider SL, Rose M. Enhanced transformation of incidentally learned knowledge into explicit memory by dopaminergic modulation. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0199013. [PMID: 29902226 PMCID: PMC6002242 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
During incidental learning statistical regularities are extracted from the environment without the intention to learn. Acquired implicit memory of these regularities can affect behavior in the absence of awareness. However, conscious insight in the underlying regularities can also develop during learning. Such emergence of explicit memory is an important learning mechanism that is assumed to involve prediction errors in the striatum and to be dopamine-dependent. Here we directly tested this hypothesis by manipulating dopamine levels during incidental learning in a modified serial reaction time task (SRTT) featuring a hidden regular sequence of motor responses in a placebo-controlled between-group study. Awareness for the sequential regularity was subsequently assessed using cued generation and additionally verified using free recall. The results demonstrated that dopaminergic modulation nearly doubled the amount of explicit sequence knowledge emerged during learning in comparison to the placebo group. This strong effect clearly argues for a causal role of dopamine-dependent processing for the development of awareness for sequential regularities during learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Clos
- Department for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Sommer
- Department for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Signe L. Schneider
- Department for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael Rose
- Department for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, Germany
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30
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Dopaminergic Drug Effects on Probability Weighting during Risky Decision Making. eNeuro 2018; 5:eN-NWR-0330-17. [PMID: 29632870 PMCID: PMC5889481 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0330-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Dopamine has been associated with risky decision-making, as well as with pathological gambling, a behavioral addiction characterized by excessive risk-taking behavior. However, the specific mechanisms through which dopamine might act to foster risk-taking and pathological gambling remain elusive. Here we test the hypothesis that this might be achieved, in part, via modulation of subjective probability weighting during decision making. Human healthy controls (n = 21) and pathological gamblers (n = 16) played a decision-making task involving choices between sure monetary options and risky gambles both in the gain and loss domains. Each participant played the task twice, either under placebo or the dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist sulpiride, in a double-blind counterbalanced design. A prospect theory modelling approach was used to estimate subjective probability weighting and sensitivity to monetary outcomes. Consistent with prospect theory, we found that participants presented a distortion in the subjective weighting of probabilities, i.e., they overweighted low probabilities and underweighted moderate to high probabilities, both in the gain and loss domains. Compared with placebo, sulpiride attenuated this distortion in the gain domain. Across drugs, the groups did not differ in their probability weighting, although gamblers consistently underweighted losing probabilities in the placebo condition. Overall, our results reveal that dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonism modulates the subjective weighting of probabilities in the gain domain, in the direction of more objective, economically rational decision making.
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31
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Nemmi F, Nymberg C, Darki F, Banaschewski T, Bokde ALW, Büchel C, Flor H, Frouin V, Garavan H, Gowland P, Heinz A, Martinot JL, Nees F, Paus T, Smolka MN, Robbins TW, Schumann G, Klingberg T. Interaction between striatal volume and DAT1 polymorphism predicts working memory development during adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:191-199. [PMID: 29567584 PMCID: PMC6969124 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2017] [Revised: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 03/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
There is considerable inter-individual variability in the rate at which working memory (WM) develops during childhood and adolescence, but the neural and genetic basis for these differences are poorly understood. Dopamine-related genes, striatal activation and morphology have been associated with increased WM capacity after training. Here we tested the hypothesis that these factors would also explain some of the inter-individual differences in the rate of WM development. We measured WM performance in 487 healthy subjects twice: at age 14 and 19. At age 14 subjects underwent a structural MRI scan, and genotyping of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in or close to the dopamine genes DRD2, DAT-1 and COMT, which have previously been associated with gains in WM after WM training. We then analyzed which biological factors predicted the rate of increase in WM between ages 14 and 19. We found a significant interaction between putamen size and DAT1/SLC6A3 rs40184 polymorphism, such that TC heterozygotes with a larger putamen at age 14 showed greater WM improvement at age 19. The effect of the DAT1 polymorphism on WM development was exerted in interaction with striatal morphology. These results suggest that development of WM partially share neuro-physiological mechanism with training-induced plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Nemmi
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - C Nymberg
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - F Darki
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - T Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - A L W Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| | - C Büchel
- University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - H Flor
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - V Frouin
- NeuroSpin, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - H Garavan
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA
| | - P Gowland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham,University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - A Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - J-L Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 "Neuroimaging & Psychiatry", University Paris Sud - Paris Saclay, University Paris Descartes, Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, Orsay; and Maison de Solenn, Paris, France
| | - F Nees
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - T Paus
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest and Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - M N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - T W Robbins
- Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - G Schumann
- Medical Research Council - Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - T Klingberg
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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32
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Mohr H, Wolfensteller U, Ruge H. Large-scale coupling dynamics of instructed reversal learning. Neuroimage 2018; 167:237-246. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.11.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Revised: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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Timmer MHM, Sescousse G, Esselink RAJ, Piray P, Cools R. Mechanisms Underlying Dopamine-Induced Risky Choice in Parkinson's Disease With and Without Depression (History). COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHIATRY 2018; 2:11-27. [PMID: 30090860 PMCID: PMC6067829 DOI: 10.1162/cpsy_a_00011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are often treated with dopaminergic medication. Dopaminergic medication is known to improve both motor and certain nonmotor symptoms, such as depression. However, it can contribute to behavioral impairment, for example, by enhancing risky choice. Here we characterize the computational mechanisms that contribute to dopamine-induced changes in risky choice in PD patients with and without a depression (history). We adopt a clinical–neuroeconomic approach to investigate the effects of dopaminergic medication on specific components of risky choice in PD. Twenty-three healthy controls, 21 PD patients with a depression (history), and 22 nondepressed PD patients were assessed using a well-established risky choice paradigm. Patients were tested twice: once after taking their normal dopaminergic medication and once after withdrawal of their medication. Dopaminergic medication increased a value-independent gambling propensity in nondepressed PD patients, while leaving loss aversion unaffected. By contrast, dopaminergic medication effects on loss aversion were associated with current depression severity and with drug effects on depression scores. The present findings demonstrate that dopaminergic medication increases a value-independent gambling bias in nondepressed PD patients. Moreover, the current study raises the hypothesis that dopamine-induced reductions in loss aversion might underlie previously observed comorbidity between depression and medication-related side effects in PD, such as impulse control disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monique H M Timmer
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.,Department of Neurology, Radboud University Medical Centre, and Parkinson Centre Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Guillaume Sescousse
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Rianne A J Esselink
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.,Department of Neurology, Radboud University Medical Centre, and Parkinson Centre Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Payam Piray
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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34
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Diaconescu AO, Mathys C, Weber LAE, Kasper L, Mauer J, Stephan KE. Hierarchical prediction errors in midbrain and septum during social learning. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 12:618-634. [PMID: 28119508 PMCID: PMC5390746 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Social learning is fundamental to human interactions, yet its computational and physiological mechanisms are not well understood. One prominent open question concerns the role of neuromodulatory transmitters. We combined fMRI, computational modelling and genetics to address this question in two separate samples (N = 35, N = 47). Participants played a game requiring inference on an adviser’s intentions whose motivation to help or mislead changed over time. Our analyses suggest that hierarchically structured belief updates about current advice validity and the adviser’s trustworthiness, respectively, depend on different neuromodulatory systems. Low-level prediction errors (PEs) about advice accuracy not only activated regions known to support ‘theory of mind’, but also the dopaminergic midbrain. Furthermore, PE responses in ventral striatum were influenced by the Met/Val polymorphism of the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene. By contrast, high-level PEs (‘expected uncertainty’) about the adviser’s fidelity activated the cholinergic septum. These findings, replicated in both samples, have important implications: They suggest that social learning rests on hierarchically related PEs encoded by midbrain and septum activity, respectively, in the same manner as other forms of learning under volatility. Furthermore, these hierarchical PEs may be broadcast by dopaminergic and cholinergic projections to induce plasticity specifically in cortical areas known to represent beliefs about others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreea O Diaconescu
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Mathys
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, UK.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - Lilian A E Weber
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lars Kasper
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jan Mauer
- Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany.,Department of Pharmacology, Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Klaas E Stephan
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
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35
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Piray P, den Ouden HEM, van der Schaaf ME, Toni I, Cools R. Dopaminergic Modulation of the Functional Ventrodorsal Architecture of the Human Striatum. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:485-495. [PMID: 26494799 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Interactions between motivational, cognitive, and motor regions of the striatum are crucial for implementing behavioral control. Work with experimental animals indicates that such interactions are sensitive to modulation by dopamine. Using systematic pharmacological manipulation of dopamine D2-receptors and resting-state functional imaging, we defined the functional architecture of the human striatum and quantified the effects of dopaminergic drugs on intrinsic effective connectivity between striatal subregions. We found that dopamine modulates interactions between motivational and cognitive regions, as well cognitive and motor regions of the striatum. Stimulation and blockade of the dopamine D2-receptor had opposite (increasing and decreasing) effects on the efficacy of those interactions. Furthermore, trait impulsivity was specifically associated with dopaminergic modulation of ventral-to-dorsal striatal connectivity. Individuals with high trait impulsivity exhibited greater drug-induced increases (after stimulation) and decreases (after blockade) of ventral-to-dorsal striatal connectivity than those with low trait impulsivity. These observations establish a key link between dopamine, intrinsic effective connectivity between striatal subregions, and trait impulsivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Payam Piray
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Hanneke E M den Ouden
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Marieke E van der Schaaf
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ivan Toni
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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36
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Mathar D, Neumann J, Villringer A, Horstmann A. Failing to learn from negative prediction errors: Obesity is associated with alterations in a fundamental neural learning mechanism. Cortex 2017; 95:222-237. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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37
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Timmer MHM, Sescousse G, van der Schaaf ME, Esselink RAJ, Cools R. Reward learning deficits in Parkinson's disease depend on depression. Psychol Med 2017; 47:2302-2311. [PMID: 28374660 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717000769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression is one of the most common and debilitating non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying depression in PD are unclear and treatment is often suboptimal. METHODS We investigated the role of striatal dopamine in reversal learning from reward and punishment by combining a controlled medication withdrawal procedure with functional magnetic resonance imaging in 22 non-depressed PD patients and 19 PD patients with past or present depression. RESULTS PD patients with a depression (history) exhibited impaired reward v. punishment reversal learning as well as reduced reward v. punishment-related BOLD signal in the striatum (putamen) compared with non-depressed PD patients. No effects of dopaminergic medication were observed. CONCLUSIONS The present findings demonstrate that impairments in reversal learning from reward v. punishment and associated striatal signalling depend on the presence of (a history of) depression in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- M H M Timmer
- Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging,Radboud University,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
| | - G Sescousse
- Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging,Radboud University,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
| | - M E van der Schaaf
- Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging,Radboud University,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
| | - R A J Esselink
- Department of Neurology and Parkinson Center Nijmegen (ParC),Radboud University Medical Center,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
| | - R Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging,Radboud University,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
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38
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The “highs and lows” of the human brain on dopaminergics: Evidence from neuropharmacology. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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39
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Dopamine Modulates Adaptive Prediction Error Coding in the Human Midbrain and Striatum. J Neurosci 2017; 37:1708-1720. [PMID: 28202786 PMCID: PMC5320604 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1979-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2016] [Revised: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 11/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning to optimally predict rewards requires agents to account for fluctuations in reward value. Recent work suggests that individuals can efficiently learn about variable rewards through adaptation of the learning rate, and coding of prediction errors relative to reward variability. Such adaptive coding has been linked to midbrain dopamine neurons in nonhuman primates, and evidence in support for a similar role of the dopaminergic system in humans is emerging from fMRI data. Here, we sought to investigate the effect of dopaminergic perturbations on adaptive prediction error coding in humans, using a between-subject, placebo-controlled pharmacological fMRI study with a dopaminergic agonist (bromocriptine) and antagonist (sulpiride). Participants performed a previously validated task in which they predicted the magnitude of upcoming rewards drawn from distributions with varying SDs. After each prediction, participants received a reward, yielding trial-by-trial prediction errors. Under placebo, we replicated previous observations of adaptive coding in the midbrain and ventral striatum. Treatment with sulpiride attenuated adaptive coding in both midbrain and ventral striatum, and was associated with a decrease in performance, whereas bromocriptine did not have a significant impact. Although we observed no differential effect of SD on performance between the groups, computational modeling suggested decreased behavioral adaptation in the sulpiride group. These results suggest that normal dopaminergic function is critical for adaptive prediction error coding, a key property of the brain thought to facilitate efficient learning in variable environments. Crucially, these results also offer potential insights for understanding the impact of disrupted dopamine function in mental illness.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT To choose optimally, we have to learn what to expect. Humans dampen learning when there is a great deal of variability in reward outcome, and two brain regions that are modulated by the brain chemical dopamine are sensitive to reward variability. Here, we aimed to directly relate dopamine to learning about variable rewards, and the neural encoding of associated teaching signals. We perturbed dopamine in healthy individuals using dopaminergic medication and asked them to predict variable rewards while we made brain scans. Dopamine perturbations impaired learning and the neural encoding of reward variability, thus establishing a direct link between dopamine and adaptation to reward variability. These results aid our understanding of clinical conditions associated with dopaminergic dysfunction, such as psychosis.
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40
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Horstmann A. It wasn't me; it was my brain – Obesity-associated characteristics of brain circuits governing decision-making. Physiol Behav 2017; 176:125-133. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Revised: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/02/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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41
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Eckstein MK, Guerra-Carrillo B, Miller Singley AT, Bunge SA. Beyond eye gaze: What else can eyetracking reveal about cognition and cognitive development? Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 25:69-91. [PMID: 27908561 PMCID: PMC6987826 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2016.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 239] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2016] [Revised: 10/26/2016] [Accepted: 11/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
This review provides an introduction to two eyetracking measures that can be used to study cognitive development and plasticity: pupil dilation and spontaneous blink rate. We begin by outlining the rich history of gaze analysis, which can reveal the current focus of attention as well as cognitive strategies. We then turn to the two lesser-utilized ocular measures. Pupil dilation is modulated by the brain's locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system, which controls physiological arousal and attention, and has been used as a measure of subjective task difficulty, mental effort, and neural gain. Spontaneous eyeblink rate correlates with levels of dopamine in the central nervous system, and can reveal processes underlying learning and goal-directed behavior. Taken together, gaze, pupil dilation, and blink rate are three non-invasive and complementary measures of cognition with high temporal resolution and well-understood neural foundations. Here we review the neural foundations of pupil dilation and blink rate, provide examples of their usage, describe analytic methods and methodological considerations, and discuss their potential for research on learning, cognitive development, and plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria K Eckstein
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, United States
| | | | | | - Silvia A Bunge
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, United States; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California at Berkeley, United States.
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Lesage E, Aronson SE, Sutherland MT, Ross TJ, Salmeron BJ, Stein EA. Neural Signatures of Cognitive Flexibility and Reward Sensitivity Following Nicotinic Receptor Stimulation in Dependent Smokers: A Randomized Trial. JAMA Psychiatry 2017; 74:632-640. [PMID: 28403383 PMCID: PMC5539833 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.0400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Withdrawal from nicotine is an important contributor to smoking relapse. Understanding how reward-based decision making is affected by abstinence and by pharmacotherapies such as nicotine replacement therapy and varenicline tartrate may aid cessation treatment. OBJECTIVE To independently assess the effects of nicotine dependence and stimulation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor on the ability to interpret valence information (reward sensitivity) and subsequently alter behavior as reward contingencies change (cognitive flexibility) in a probabilistic reversal learning task. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Nicotine-dependent smokers and nonsmokers completed a probabilistic reversal learning task during acquisition of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a 2-drug, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design conducted from January 21, 2009, to September 29, 2011. Smokers were abstinent from cigarette smoking for 12 hours for all sessions. In a fully Latin square fashion, participants in both groups underwent MRI twice while receiving varenicline and twice while receiving a placebo pill, wearing either a nicotine or a placebo patch. Imaging analysis was performed from June 15, 2015, to August 10, 2016. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES A well-established computational model captured effects of smoking status and administration of nicotine and varenicline on probabilistic reversal learning choice behavior. Neural effects of smoking status, nicotine, and varenicline were tested for on MRI contrasts that captured reward sensitivity and cognitive flexibility. RESULTS The study included 24 nicotine-dependent smokers (12 women and 12 men; mean [SD] age, 35.8 [9.9] years) and 20 nonsmokers (10 women and 10 men; mean [SD] age, 30.4 [7.2] years). Computational modeling indicated that abstinent smokers were biased toward response shifting and that their decisions were less sensitive to the available evidence, suggesting increased impulsivity during withdrawal. These behavioral impairments were mitigated with nicotine and varenicline. Similarly, decreased mesocorticolimbic activity associated with cognitive flexibility in abstinent smokers was restored to the level of nonsmokers following stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (familywise error-corrected P < .05). Conversely, neural signatures of decreased reward sensitivity in smokers (vs nonsmokers; familywise error-corrected P < .05) in the dorsal striatum and anterior cingulate cortex were not mitigated by nicotine or varenicline. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE There was a double dissociation between the effects of chronic nicotine dependence on neural representations of reward sensitivity and acute effects of stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on behavioral and neural signatures of cognitive flexibility in smokers. These chronic and acute pharmacologic effects were observed in overlapping mesocorticolimbic regions, suggesting that available pharmacotherapies may alleviate deficits in the same circuitry for certain mental computations but not for others. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00830739.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Lesage
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Sarah E. Aronson
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland,School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore
| | - Matthew T. Sutherland
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami
| | - Thomas J. Ross
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Betty Jo Salmeron
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Elliot A. Stein
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
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The dopamine hypothesis of bipolar affective disorder: the state of the art and implications for treatment. Mol Psychiatry 2017; 22:666-679. [PMID: 28289283 PMCID: PMC5401767 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2017.16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 262] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2016] [Revised: 12/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Bipolar affective disorder is a common neuropsychiatric disorder. Although its neurobiological underpinnings are incompletely understood, the dopamine hypothesis has been a key theory of the pathophysiology of both manic and depressive phases of the illness for over four decades. The increased use of antidopaminergics in the treatment of this disorder and new in vivo neuroimaging and post-mortem studies makes it timely to review this theory. To do this, we conducted a systematic search for post-mortem, pharmacological, functional magnetic resonance and molecular imaging studies of dopamine function in bipolar disorder. Converging findings from pharmacological and imaging studies support the hypothesis that a state of hyperdopaminergia, specifically elevations in D2/3 receptor availability and a hyperactive reward processing network, underlies mania. In bipolar depression imaging studies show increased dopamine transporter levels, but changes in other aspects of dopaminergic function are inconsistent. Puzzlingly, pharmacological evidence shows that both dopamine agonists and antidopaminergics can improve bipolar depressive symptoms and perhaps actions at other receptors may reconcile these findings. Tentatively, this evidence suggests a model where an elevation in striatal D2/3 receptor availability would lead to increased dopaminergic neurotransmission and mania, whilst increased striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) levels would lead to reduced dopaminergic function and depression. Thus, it can be speculated that a failure of dopamine receptor and transporter homoeostasis might underlie the pathophysiology of this disorder. The limitations of this model include its reliance on pharmacological evidence, as these studies could potentially affect other monoamines, and the scarcity of imaging evidence on dopaminergic function. This model, if confirmed, has implications for developing new treatment strategies such as reducing the dopamine synthesis and/or release in mania and DAT blockade in bipolar depression.
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Mathar D, Wilkinson L, Holl AK, Neumann J, Deserno L, Villringer A, Jahanshahi M, Horstmann A. The role of dopamine in positive and negative prediction error utilization during incidental learning – Insights from Positron Emission Tomography, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Cortex 2017; 90:149-162. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Revised: 08/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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Boot N, Baas M, van Gaal S, Cools R, De Dreu CKW. Creative cognition and dopaminergic modulation of fronto-striatal networks: Integrative review and research agenda. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 78:13-23. [PMID: 28419830 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Revised: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/09/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Creative cognition is key to human functioning yet the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are sparsely addressed and poorly understood. Here we address the possibility that creative cognition is a function of dopaminergic modulation in fronto-striatal brain circuitries. It is proposed that (i) creative cognition benefits from both flexible and persistent processing, (ii) striatal dopamine and the integrity of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway is associated with flexible processing, while (iii) prefrontal dopamine and the integrity of the mesocortical dopaminergic pathway is associated with persistent processing. We examine this possibility in light of studies linking creative ideation, divergent thinking, and creative problem-solving to polymorphisms in dopamine receptor genes, indirect markers and manipulations of the dopaminergic system, and clinical populations with dysregulated dopaminergic activity. Combined, studies suggest a functional differentiation between striatal and prefrontal dopamine: moderate (but not low or high) levels of striatal dopamine benefit creative cognition by facilitating flexible processes, and moderate (but not low or high) levels of prefrontal dopamine enable persistence-driven creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Boot
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Matthijs Baas
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Simon van Gaal
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands
| | - Carsten K W De Dreu
- Department of Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Center for Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making (CREED), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Associations between Electrophysiological Evidence of Reward and Punishment-Based Learning and Psychotic Experiences and Social Anhedonia in At-Risk Groups. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:925-932. [PMID: 27629367 PMCID: PMC5312063 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Revised: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/01/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Both positive psychotic symptoms and anhedonia are associated with striatal functioning, but few studies have linked risk for psychotic disorders to a neural measure evoked during a striatal dopamine-related reward and punishment-based learning task, such as a reversal learning task (RLT; Cools et al, 2009). The feedback-related negativity (FRN) is a neural response that in part reflects striatal dopamine functioning. We recorded EEG during the RLT in three groups: (a) people with psychotic experiences (PE; n=20) at increased risk for psychotic disorders; (b) people with extremely elevated social anhedonia (SocAnh; n=22); and (c) controls (n=20). Behaviorally, consistent with increased striatal dopamine, the PE group exhibited better behavioral learning (ie, faster responses) after unexpected reward than after unexpected punishment. Moreover, although the control and SocAnh groups showed a larger FRN to punishment than reward, the PE group showed similar FRNs to punishment and reward, with a numerically larger FRN to reward than punishment (with similar results on these trials also found for a P3a component). These results are among the first to link a neural response evoked by a reward and punishment-based learning task specifically with elevated psychosis risk.
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Diekhof EK, Kraft S. The association between endogenous testosterone level and behavioral flexibility in young men - Evidence from stimulus-outcome reversal learning. Horm Behav 2017; 89:193-200. [PMID: 28185881 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2016] [Revised: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The capacity to flexibly adapt responding to unexpected changes in the environment is crucial for survival. Several neurotransmitters have been implicated in stimulus-outcome reversal learning. Yet, it remains an open question whether inter-individual differences in the neuroactive hormone testosterone may also be related to this type of behavioral flexibility. In this study we assessed the association between endogenous testosterone level and reversal learning in young healthy men. We used an observer reversal learning task, in which subjects viewed computer-based decisions between two stimuli, of which one was currently rewarded while the other one was punished. Contingencies reversed unpredictably every 5-9 trials. Subjects had to indicate the current outcome association before the actual outcome was revealed. In the trial following an unexpected reversal either the same stimulus from the reversal (experienced reversal), or its alternative, for which the reversal had not yet been shown (inferred reversal), could be chosen by the computer, and subjects had to adapt responding accordingly. We found that testosterone predicted better post-reversal performance. This correlation was strongest in the more difficult inferred reversal condition, particularly in impulsive individuals. Collectively, these data support the view that endogenous testosterone may enhance behavioral flexibility in men, particularly when working memory demand is high and subjects have to update several stimulus-outcome contingencies at the same time. It remains to be further elucidated whether this testosterone effect was achieved through an interaction with dopaminergic transmission or through direct interplay with androgen receptors in the brain regions implicated in reversal learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther K Diekhof
- University of Hamburg, Biological Department, Zoological Institute, Neuroendocrinology Unit, Germany.
| | - Susanne Kraft
- University of Hamburg, Biological Department, Zoological Institute, Neuroendocrinology Unit, Germany
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Bellebaum C, Kuchinke L, Roser P. Modafinil alters decision making based on feedback history - a randomized placebo-controlled double blind study in humans. J Psychopharmacol 2017; 31:243-249. [PMID: 27649777 DOI: 10.1177/0269881116668591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Modafinil is becoming increasingly popular as a cognitive enhancer. Research on the effects of modafinil on cognitive function have yielded mixed results, with negative findings for simple memory and attention tasks and enhancing effects for more complex tasks. In the present study we examined whether modafinil, due to its known effect on the dopamine level in the striatum, alters feedback-related choice behaviour. We applied a task that separately tests the choice of previously rewarded behaviours (approach) and avoidance of previously punished behaviours. 18 participants received a single dose of 200 mg modafinil. Their performance was compared to a group of 22 participants who received placebo in a double-blind design. Modafinil but not placebo induced a significant bias towards approach behaviour as compared to the frequency of avoidance behaviour. General attention, overall feedback-based acquisition of choice behaviour and reaction times in high vs low conflict choices were not significantly affected by modafinil. This finding suggests that modafinil has a specific effect on dopamine-mediated choice behaviour based on the history of feedback, while a contribution of noradrenaline is also conceivable. The described change in decision making cannot be considered as cognitive enhancement, but might rather have detrimental effects on decisions in everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Bellebaum
- 1 Institute for Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Lars Kuchinke
- 2 Experimental Psychology & Methods, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.,3 Methodology and Evaluation, International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Germany
| | - Patrik Roser
- 4 Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Sescousse G, Janssen LK, Hashemi MM, Timmer MHM, Geurts DEM, ter Huurne NP, Clark L, Cools R. Amplified Striatal Responses to Near-Miss Outcomes in Pathological Gamblers. Neuropsychopharmacology 2016; 41:2614-23. [PMID: 27006113 PMCID: PMC4987843 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 02/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/18/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Near-misses in gambling games are losing events that come close to a win. Near-misses were previously shown to recruit reward-related brain regions including the ventral striatum, and to invigorate gambling behavior, supposedly by fostering an illusion of control. Given that pathological gamblers are particularly vulnerable to such cognitive illusions, their persistent gambling behavior might result from an amplified striatal sensitivity to near-misses. In addition, animal studies have shown that behavioral responses to near-miss-like events are sensitive to dopamine, but this dopaminergic influence has not been tested in humans. To investigate these hypotheses, we recruited 22 pathological gamblers and 22 healthy controls who played a slot machine task delivering wins, near-misses and full-misses, inside an fMRI scanner. Each participant played the task twice, once under placebo and once under a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist (sulpiride 400 mg), in a double-blind, counter-balanced design. Participants were asked about their motivation to continue gambling throughout the task. Across all participants, near-misses elicited higher motivation to continue gambling and increased striatal responses compared with full-misses. Crucially, pathological gamblers showed amplified striatal responses to near-misses compared with controls. These group differences were not observed following win outcomes. In contrast to our hypothesis, sulpiride did not induce any reliable modulation of brain responses to near-misses. Together, our results demonstrate that pathological gamblers have amplified brain responses to near-misses, which likely contribute to their persistent gambling behavior. However, there is no evidence that these responses are influenced by dopamine. These results have implications for treatment and gambling regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Sescousse
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Lieneke K Janssen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Mahur M Hashemi
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Monique H M Timmer
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Neurology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Dirk E M Geurts
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Niels P ter Huurne
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Luke Clark
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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50
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Cools R. The costs and benefits of brain dopamine for cognitive control. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2016; 7:317-29. [DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour; Radboud University Medical Center; Nijmegen The Netherlands
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