The role of dopamine in decision making
The neuromodulator dopamine is believed to play multiple roles in decision making, but the neurocomputational basis of dopamine’s influence on behavior remains unclear. Through a combination of fMRI, pharmacology, and smartphone-based experiments in the general population and in Parkinson’s disease, we find evidence that dopamine is associated with increased risk taking in a manner that does not depend on value. Surprising sounds are associated with dopamine release, and we find that surprising sounds increase risk taking in a manner that does not depend on value. Dopamine is also believed to influence willingness to exert effort. We introduce a new task to study the vigor with which actions are taken to obtain reward and the relationship between vigor and mood. We use a combination of lab, online, and smartphone-based experiments to quantify the relationship between reward, mood, and vigor across the lifespan.
Date: 29 October 2024, 13:00 (Tuesday, 3rd week, Michaelmas 2024)
Venue: New Radcliffe House, Walton Street OX2 6NW
Venue Details: Seminar Room
Speaker: Prof Robb Rutledge (Yale University)
Organising department: Department of Experimental Psychology
Host: Professor Matthew Rushworth (University of Oxford)
Part of: Department of Experimental Psychology - Cognitive & Behavioural Neuroscience Seminar series (BEACON)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Nicholas Irving