Dopaminergic modulation of the exploration/exploitation trade-off in human decision-making.

ABSTRACT: Involvement of dopamine in regulating exploration during decision-making has long been hypothesized, but direct causal evidence in humans is still lacking. Here, we use a combination of computational modeling, pharmacological intervention and functional magnetic resonance imaging to address this issue. Thirty-one healthy male participants performed a restless four-armed bandit task in a within-subjects design under three drug conditions: 150 mg of the dopamine precursor L-dopa, 2 mg of the D2 receptor antagonist haloperidol, and placebo. Choices were best explained by an extension of an established Bayesian learning model accounting for perseveration, directed exploration and random exploration. Modeling revealed attenuated directed exploration under L-dopa, while neural signatures of expl

SUBMITTER: Chakroun K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7266623 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature