A top-down perspective on dopamine, motivation and memory.

Full Abstract

Dopamine (DA) activity, in the form of increased neural firing or enhanced release of transmitter from nerve terminals and varicosities, is linked to a number of important psychological processes including:
movement; hedonic reactions to positive reward; provision of an error detection signal during the acquisition of new learning; response to novel stimuli; provision of reinforcement signals essential for acquisition of new action patterns; and incentive motivation. This review focuses primarily on our research linking dynamic changes in DA efflux on the timescale of minutes, with incentive motivation, as revealed by brain dialysis experiments in behaving animals. Recent experiments on sensory-specific satiety and successive positive and negative contrast are discussed along with the distinction between preparatory behaviors that precede contact with biologically significant stimuli and subsequent consummatory behaviors. The relationship between DA efflux in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and foraging for food based on working memory is also discussed in support of the conjecture that DA may serve as a link between motivation and memory functions. Evidence in support of 'top-down' regulation of dopaminergic activity in the mesocorticolimbic DA pathways is reviewed briefly to introduce a mechanism by which activation of ascending DA projections in this manner might optimize dopaminergic modulation of executive function within regions such as the mPFC. Collectively, these processes could ensure coordination between cognitive processes that assess current opportunities and the motivational systems that select and engage patterns of approach behavior that bring organisms into contact with the essentials for survival.

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Author information

Author/s: Phillips, Anthony G (AG); Vacca, Giada (G); Ahn, Soyon (S);

Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. aphillips@psych.ubc.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review

Journal: Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior (Pharmacol Biochem Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Aug; vol 90 (issue 2) : pp 236-49

Dates: Created 2008/06/09; Completed 2008/08/12;

PMID: 18045671, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Amygdala - physiology
Animals
Dopamine - physiology
Hippocampus - physiology
Humans
Memory
Microdialysis

Motivation
Nucleus Accumbens - physiology
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Receptors, Dopamine D1 - physiology
Satiety Response
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Ventral Tegmental Area - physiology

Associated Chemicals: Receptors, Dopamine D1 (0) ; Dopamine (51-61-6)

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