Striatal Dopamine and the Interface between Motivation and Cognition

Abstract

Brain dopamine has long been known to be implicated in the domains of appetitive motivation and cognition. Recent work indicates that dopamine also plays a role in the interaction between appetitive motivation and cognition. Here we review this work. Animal work has revealed an arrangement of spiraling connections between the midbrain and the striatum that subserves a mechanism by which dopamine can direct information flow from ventromedial to more dorsal regions in the striatum. In line with current knowledge about dopamine's effects on cognition, we hypothesize that these striato-nigro-striatal connections provide the basis for functionally specific effects of appetitive motivation on cognition. One implication of this hypothesis is that appetitive motivation can induce cognitive improvement or impairment depending on task demands.

Inferior frontal cortex activity is modulated by reward sensitivity and performance variability

“…However, these increases were accompanied by behavioral markers of inattention, which may indicate impairment in maintaining attention focused on the task. One possibility that might be tested in future studies is that reward sensitivity favors a cognitive profile of higher flexibility Avila & Parcet, 1997;Poy et al, 2004;Prabhakaran et al, 2011), which is necessary for correct performance in the No-go and Infrequent-go trials, but comes at the cost of increased distractibility (Aarts et al, 2011), which impairs performance in the condition that requires attentional focusing. In behavioral terms, increased distractibility can be manifested as wider RT variability.…”

“…Accordingly, reward sensitivity may enhance cognitive flexibility or cognitive focusing depending on the task demands. This view is supported by the opposite effects of appetitive motivation and increased dopamine function on the brain, which favor cognitive flexibility at the cost of reducing cognitive focusing and increasing distractibility, or vice versa, depending on the task demands and the associated neural systems (Aarts, van Holstein, & Cools, 2011). Therefore, reward sensitivity may modulate brain function depending on the task at hand and its neural substrates by either enhancing or impairing task performance.…”

Las diferencias individuales en sensibilidad a la recompensa modulan la actividad cerebral en una tarea de control inhibitorio con contingencias de reforzamiento

“…(2012), en el que correlacionaron las diferencias individuales en sR con la actividad de las áreas implicadas en una tarea de cambio de norma, en la cual se necesita de una importante implicación de procesos de control cognitivo para llevarla a cabo. Teniendo en cuenta que la sR es un rasgo de personalidad muy ligado a la actividad del sistema dopaminérgico y que este modula el flujo de información desde circuitos frontoestriatales ventrales, implicados en la recompensa y la motivación, hacia circuitos frontoestriatales dorsales, asociados con la cognición y la acción (Aarts, 2011), resulta conforme a lo esperado que la actividad del gFi se vea modulada por la actividad de los circuitos dopaminérgicos. De lo cual se infiere, que la actividad del gFi permite la inhibición de la respuesta y dicha actividad se ve incrementada cuando la inhibición conlleva la obtención de un refuerzo.…”

Exercise-induced changes in basal ganglia volume and their relation to cognitive performance

“…In this context, the basal ganglia and its components, the caudate nucleus, the putamen and the globus pallidus, are of special interest as animal research indicates that exercise also seems to influence the molecular architecture and the metabolic capacity of the basal ganglia 14,15 . Besides their fundamental role in motor execution 16 , the basal ganglia are also involved in many cognitive functions like mental flexibility 17 , task-switching ability 18 and cognitive control 19 . Furthermore, age-related disorders like Parkinson's disease are related to a decline in the dopamine circuits of the basal ganglia 20,21 .…”