Studies on the role of subcortical dopaminergic networks in decision-making

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jan Peters
• Subject Area: Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: from 2014 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 257204944

Impairments in reward-based decision-making are central diagnostic criteria of many neuropsychiatric disorders, including substance use disorders and pathological gambling. A central recurring theme in neural accounts of these disorders is a maladaptive change in dopaminergic neurotransmission. From different angles, the present project addresses two central questions: How does aberrant processing of rewards in cortical-basal ganglia circuits contribute to decision-making impairments in addiction? What are the different roles played by the neurotransmitter dopamine in this context? These questions are addressed using a combination of high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging of subcortical networks (Striatum, Amygdala) with pharmacological, behavioral and computational approaches.One set of projects examines the role of Pavlovian appetitive stimuli in modulating goal-directed decision-making (temporal discounting) in healthy subjects, pathological gamblers and smokers, and investigates the role of dopamine in mediating these interactions. A second line of studies examines the role that aberrant reinforcement learning processes play in gambling addiction, and address the role of dopamine in regulation exploration vs. exploitation during learning. Finally, using a combination of decision-making and learning tasks from these different lines of studies, we then examine individual differences in the effects of dopaminergic medication on reinforcement learning, temporal discounting and instrumental responding. Taken together, these projects will advance our understanding of the maladaptive changes in learning and decision-making associated with addiction, and shed light on the functional roles of subcortical dopaminergic regions in mediating these changes.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups