| 1. |
- Adams, Rick A., et al.
(författare)
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Variability in Action Selection Relates to Striatal Dopamine 2/3 Receptor Availability in Humans : A PET Neuroimaging Study Using Reinforcement Learning and Active Inference Models
- 2020
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Ingår i: Cerebral Cortex. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1047-3211 .- 1460-2199. ; 30:6, s. 3573-3589
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Choosing actions that result in advantageous outcomes is a fundamental function of nervous systems. All computational decision-making models contain a mechanism that controls the variability of (or confidence in) action selection, but its neural implementation is unclear-especially in humans. We investigated this mechanism using two influential decision-making frameworks: active inference (AI) and reinforcement learning (RL). In AI, the precision (inverse variance) of beliefs about policies controls action selection variability-similar to decision 'noise' parameters in RL-and is thought to be encoded by striatal dopamine signaling. We tested this hypothesis by administering a 'go/no-go' task to 75 healthy participants, and measuring striatal dopamine 2/3 receptor (D2/3R) availability in a subset (n = 25) using [C-11]-(+)-PHNO positron emission tomography. In behavioral model comparison, RL performed best across the whole group but AI performed best in participants performing above chance levels. Limbic striatal D2/3R availability had linear relationships with AI policy precision (P = 0.029) as well as with RL irreducible decision 'noise' (P = 0.020), and this relationship with D2/3R availability was confirmed with a 'decision stochasticity' factor that aggregated across both models (P = 0.0006). These findings are consistent with occupancy of inhibitory striatal D(2/3)Rs decreasing the variability of action selection in humans.
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| 2. |
- Betts, Matthew J., et al.
(författare)
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Learning in anticipation of reward and punishment : perspectives across the human lifespan
- 2020
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Ingår i: Neurobiology of Aging. - : Elsevier BV. - 0197-4580 .- 1558-1497. ; 96, s. 49-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Learning to act to receive reward and to withhold to avoid punishment has been found to be easier than learning the opposite contingencies in young adults. To what extent this type of behavioral adaptation might develop during childhood and adolescence and differ during aging remains unclear. We therefore tested 247 healthy individuals across the human life span (7–80 years) with an orthogonalized valenced go/no-go learning task. Computational modeling revealed that peak performance in young adults was attributable to greater sensitivity to both reward and punishment. However, in children and adolescents, we observed an increased bias toward action but not reward sensitivity. By contrast, reduced learning in midlife and older adults was accompanied by decreased reward sensitivity and especially punishment sensitivity along with an age-related increase in the Pavlovian bias. These findings reveal distinct motivation-dependent learning capabilities across the human life span, which cannot be probed using conventional go/reward no-go/punishment style paradigms that have important implications in lifelong education.
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| 3. |
- de Boer, Lieke, et al.
(författare)
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Attenuation of dopamine-modulated prefrontal value signals underlies probabilistic reward learning deficits in old age
- 2017
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Ingår i: eLIFE. - : ELIFE SCIENCES PUBLICATIONS LTD. - 2050-084X. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Probabilistic reward learning is characterised by individual differences that become acute in aging. This may be due to age-related dopamine (DA) decline affecting neural processing in striatum, prefrontal cortex, or both. We examined this by administering a probabilistic reward learning task to younger and older adults, and combining computational modelling of behaviour, fMRI and PET measurements of DA D1 availability. We found that anticipatory value signals in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) were attenuated in older adults. The strength of this signal predicted performance beyond age and was modulated by D1 availability in nucleus accumbens. These results uncover that a value-anticipation mechanism in vmPFC declines in aging, and that this mechanism is associated with DA D1 receptor availability.
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| 4. |
- de Boer, Lieke, et al.
(författare)
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Corticostriatal White Matter Integrity and Dopamine D1 Receptor Availability Predict Age Differences in Prefrontal Value Signaling during Reward Learning
- 2020
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Ingår i: Cerebral Cortex. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1047-3211 .- 1460-2199. ; 30:10, s. 5270-5280
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Probabilistic reward learning reflects the ability to adapt choices based on probabilistic feedback. The dopaminergically innervated corticostriatal circuit in the brain plays an important role in supporting successful probabilistic reward learning. Several components of the corticostriatal circuit deteriorate with age, as it does probabilistic reward learning. We showed previously that D1 receptor availability in NAcc predicts the strength of anticipatory value signaling in vmPFC, a neural correlate of probabilistic learning that is attenuated in older participants and predicts probabilistic reward learning performance. We investigated how white matter integrity in the pathway between nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) relates to the strength of anticipatory value signaling in vmPFC in younger and older participants. We found that in a sample of 22 old and 23 young participants, fractional anisotropy in the pathway between NAcc and vmPFC predicted the strength of value signaling in vmPFC independently from D1 receptor availability in NAcc. These findings provide tentative evidence that integrity in the dopaminergic and white matter pathways of corticostriatal circuitry supports the expression of value signaling in vmPFC which supports reward learning, however, the limited sample size calls for independent replication. These and future findings could add to the improved understanding of how corticostriatal integrity contributes to reward learning ability.
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| 5. |
- de Boer, Lieke
(författare)
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Dopamine, decision-making, and aging : neural and behavioural correlates
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- On any given day, we make tons of decisions. These can be as simple as deciding how to dress or what to eat, or more complex, such as whether to spend or invest money. Good decision-making involves being able to select the best alternative from a range of options, and adjust one’s preferences based on what is happening in the environment. As humans get older, their ability to do this changes. Age-related changes in decision-making ability result from changes in brain structure and function, such as the deterioration of the brain’s dopaminergic system in old age. In this thesis, we used a sample of 30 older and 30 younger participants to investigate age-related differences in neural and behavioural correlates of value-based decision-making, which involves making decisions that can result in rewards and punishments. Such decisions are known to rely on dopaminergic functioning. In the brain, we have looked at neural activity reflecting value and reward prediction errors (RPEs), the availability of dopamine D1 receptors, and integrity of white matter microstructure. For the behavioural data, we have used computational modelling to disentangle motivational biases and other parameters reflecting parts of the learning process that underlies successful decision-making. In study 1, we investigated whether performance on a value-based decision-making task differed between the two age groups. We also looked at whether performance differences could be explained by differential neural processing of RPEs and expected value in the striatum and prefrontal cortex (PFC). We used a novel computational model to estimate expected value, decision uncertainty and confidence. We found that older adults earned fewer rewards on the task. The number of rewards earned could be predicted by the strength of the neural signal reflecting expected value in the ventromedial PFC (vmPFC), which was attenuated in older adults. Beyond age, the strength of this neural signal could be predicted by dopamine D1 receptor (D1-R) availability in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). In study 2, we showed that integrity of white matter microstructure in the pathway between the NAcc and vmPFC also predicted the neural value signal in the vmPFC, independently of age and D1-R availability in the NAcc. In study 3 and 4, we focused on dissociating the effects of action and valence on neural and behavioural correlates of decision-making. In study 3, we used com-putational modelling to characterize faster learning to act in response to rewards, and abstaining from acting in response to punishments, as being the result of biased instrumental learning. Study 3 also showed that variability in dopamine D1-R availability could be divided into cortical, dorsal striatal and ventral striatal components. Regardless of age, dopamine D1-R availability in the dorsal striatal component was related to biased learning from rewarded actions. In study 4 we investigated anticipatory value signals after learning had reached an asymptote. We observed no differences between age groups in anticipatory neural responses to action and valence, and no relationship between anticipatory neural signals and dopamine D1-R availability. Older adults did show an attenuated punishment prediction error signal in the insula, compared with younger adults. The strength of differentiation between reward- and punishment prediction error signals in the insula was related to dopamine D1-R availability in the cortex. These studies have demonstrated that the existing theoretical framework sur-rounding the role of dopamine system in decision-making and aging fits with dopamine D1-R availability data and behavioural data in older and younger adults, and partly explain why older adults show behavioural differences in value-based decision-making tasks. Collectively, the studies in this thesis provide important multimodal evidence that increases our understanding of the neural correlates that underlie value-based decision-making and how they are affected in healthy aging.
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| 6. |
- de Boer, Lieke, et al.
(författare)
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Dorsal striatal dopamine D1 receptor availability predicts an instrumental bias in action learning
- 2019
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 116:1, s. 261-270
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Learning to act to obtain reward and inhibit to avoid punishment is easier compared with learning the opposite contingencies. This coupling of action and valence is often thought of as a Pavlovian bias, although recent research has shown it may also emerge through instrumental mechanisms. We measured this learning bias with a rewarded go/no-go task in 60 adults of different ages. Using computational modeling, we characterized the bias as being instrumental. To assess the role of endogenous dopamine (DA) in the expression of this bias, we quantified DA D1 receptor availability using positron emission tomography (PET) with the radioligand [11C]SCH23390. Using principal-component analysis on the binding potentials in a number of cortical and striatal regions of interest, we demonstrated that cortical, dorsal striatal, and ventral striatal areas provide independent sources of variance in DA D1 receptor availability. Interindividual variation in the dorsal striatal component was related to the strength of the instrumental bias during learning. These data suggest at least three anatomical sources of variance in DA D1 receptor availability separable using PET in humans, and we provide evidence that human dorsal striatal DA D1 receptors are involved in the modulation of instrumental learning biases.
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| 7. |
- Garzón, Benjamín, et al.
(författare)
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Role of dopamine and gray matter density in aging effects and individual differences of functional connectomes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Brain Structure and Function. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1863-2653 .- 1863-2661. ; 226, s. 743-758
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With increasing age, functional connectomes become dissimilar across normal individuals, reflecting heterogenous aging effects on functional connectivity (FC). We investigated the distribution of these effects across the connectome and their relationship with age-related differences in dopamine (DA) D1 receptor availability and gray matter density (GMD). With this aim, we determined aging effects on mean and interindividual variance of FC using fMRI in 30 younger and 30 older healthy subjects and mapped the contribution of each connection to the patterns of age-related similarity loss. Aging effects on mean FC accounted mainly for the dissimilarity between connectomes of younger and older adults, and were related, across brain regions, to aging effects on DA D1 receptor availability. Aging effects on the variance of FC indicated a global increase in variance with advancing age, explained connectome dissimilarity among older subjects and were related to aging effects on variance of GMD. The relationship between aging and the similarity of connectomes can thus be partly explained by age differences in DA modulation and gray matter structure.
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| 8. |
- Hird, Emily J., et al.
(författare)
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Dopamine and reward-related vigor in younger and older adults
- 2022
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Ingår i: Neurobiology of Aging. - : Elsevier. - 0197-4580 .- 1558-1497. ; 118, s. 34-43
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vigor reflects how motivated people are to respond to stimuli. We previously showed that, on average, humans are more vigorous when a higher rate of reward is available, and that this relationship is modulated by the dopamine precursor levodopa. Dopamine signaling and probabilistic reward learning deteriorate across the adult life span, and thus, the relationship between vigor and reward may also change in aging. We tested this assertion and assessed whether it correlates with D1 dopamine receptor availability, measured using Positron Emission Tomography. We registered response times of 30 older and 30 younger participants during an oddball discrimination task where rewards varied systematically between trials. The average reward rate had a similar impact on vigor in both age groups. There was a weak positive association between ventral striatal dopamine receptor availability and the effect of average reward rate on response time. Overall, the effect of reward on response vigor was similar in younger and older adults, and weakly correlated with dopamine D1 receptor availability.
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| 9. |
- Perosa, Valentina, et al.
(författare)
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The Role of the Striatum in Learning to Orthogonalize CD Action and Valence : A Combined PET and 7 T MRI Aging Study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Cerebral Cortex. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1047-3211 .- 1460-2199. ; 30:5, s. 3340-3351
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pavlovian biases influence instrumental learning by coupling reward seeking with action invigoration and punishment avoidance with action suppression. Using a probabilistic go/no-go task designed to orthogonalize action (go/no-go) and valence (reward/punishment), recent studies have shown that the interaction between the two is dependent on the striatum and its key neuromodulator dopamine. Using this task, we sought to identify how structural and neuromodulatory age-related differences in the striatum may influence Pavlovian biases and instrumental learning in 25 young and 31 older adults. Computational modeling revealed a significant age-related reduction in reward and punishment sensitivity and marked (albeit not significant) reduction in learning rate and lapse rate (irreducible noise). Voxel-based morphometry analysis using 7 Tesla MRI images showed that individual differences in learning rate in older adults were related to the volume of the caudate nucleus. In contrast, dopamine synthesis capacity in the dorsal striatum, assessed using [F-18]-DOPA positron emission tomography in 22 of these older adults, was not associated with learning performance and did not moderate the relationship between caudate volume and learning rate. This multiparametric approach suggests that age-related differences in striatal volume may influence learning proficiency in old age.
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| 10. |
- Ricciardi, Lucia, et al.
(författare)
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Acting without being in control : Exploring volition in Parkinson's disease with impulsive compulsive behaviours
- 2017
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Ingår i: Parkinsonism & Related Disorders. - : Elsevier BV. - 1353-8020 .- 1873-5126. ; 40, s. 51-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Several aspects of volitional control of action may be relevant in the pathophysiology of impulsive-compulsive behaviours (ICB) in Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed to explore multiple aspects of action control, assessing reward-related behaviour, inhibition (externally and internally triggered) and sense of agency in PD patients, with and without ICB compared to healthy subjects. Methods: Nineteen PD patients with ICB (PD-ICB), 19 PD without ICB (PD-no-ICB) and 19 healthy controls (HC) underwent a battery of tests including: Intentional Binding task which measures sense of agency; Stop Signal Reaction Time (SSRT) measuring capacity for reactive inhibition; the Marble task, assessing intentional inhibition; Balloon Analog Risk Task for reward sensitivity. Results: One-way ANOVA showed significant main effect of group for action binding (p = 0.004, F = 6.27). Post hoc analysis revealed that PD-ICB had significantly stronger action binding than HC (p = 0.004), and PD-no-ICB (p = 0.04). There was no difference between PD-no-ICB and HC. SSRT did not differ between PD groups, whereas a significant difference between PD-no-ICB and HC was detected (p = 0.01). No other differences were found among groups in the other tasks. Conclusions: PD patients with ICB have abnormal performance on a psychophysical task assessing sense of agency, which might be related to a deficit in action representation at cognitive/experiential level. Yet, they have no deficit on tasks evaluating externally and internally triggered inhibitory control, or in reward-based decision-making. We conclude that impaired sense of agency may be a factor contributing to ICB in PD patients.
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