Dorsal striatal dopamine D1 receptor availability predicts an instrumental bias in action learning.

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

SUBMITTER: de Boer L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6320523 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature