Dopaminergic Modulation of Cognitive Control: Distinct Roles for the Prefrontal Cortex and the Basal Ganglia

Title: Dopaminergic Modulation of Cognitive Control: Distinct Roles for the Prefrontal Cortex and the Basal Ganglia

Volume: 16 Issue: 18

Author(s): Martine van Schouwenburg, Esther Aarts and Roshan Cools

Affiliation:

Abstract: Evidence from psychopharmacological functional neuroimaging begins to elucidate the neurochemical mechanisms of cognitive control. Here the role of dopamine in two subcomponent processes of cognitive control is discussed: the active maintenance and the flexible updating of goal-relevant representations. A range of studies have highlighted a role for the prefrontal cortex (pFC) and its modulation by dopamine in the active maintenance of distractor-resistant goal-relevant representations. This work suggests that dopamine might modulate top-down signals from the pFC, thereby increasing the activity of posterior cortical regions that process goalrelevant representations and rendering them distractor-resistant. Conversely, other studies highlight a role for dopamine in the basal ganglia in cognitive switching, which might reflect a modulation of the selective gating of cortical cognitive and motor programs. We present a working hypothesis that integrates these two disparate literatures and states that the flexible adaptation of current goal-relevant representations is mediated by modulatory influences of activity in the dopamine-sensitive basal ganglia on connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and posterior cortex.

Cite this article as:

van Schouwenburg Martine, Aarts Esther and Cools Roshan, Dopaminergic Modulation of Cognitive Control: Distinct Roles for the Prefrontal Cortex and the Basal Ganglia, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2010; 16 (18) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161210791293097