Aging and neuromodulation of forward planning under uncertainty (B03)

• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience ; Biological Psychiatry ; Developmental and Educational Psychology ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience ; Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: since 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 178833530

Project B03 will conduct a pharmaco-fMRI study with younger and older adults to investigate effects of neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) and aging-related changes in DA systems on meta-control processes and forward planning under uncertainty. Using the active inference framework and model-based fMRI analysis, we will specifically examine the role of DA in the estimation of uncertainty in tasks, in which individuals must infer hidden relations between actions and their consequences to reach goals. The aim is to deepen our understanding of cognitive deficits in old age and in mental disorders characterized by DA dysfunctions.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 940: Volition and Cognitive Control: Mechanisms, Modulators and Dysfunctions
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Dresden
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Thomas Goschke, until 6/2016; Professorin Shu-Chen Li, Ph.D., since 7/2016; Professor Dr. Michael Smolka; Dr. Franka Thurm, since 7/2016