Atomoxetine modulates the relationship between perceptual abilities and response bias.
Psychopharmacology (Berl)
; 236(12): 3641-3653, 2019 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31384989
ABSTRACT
Elucidation of how neuromodulators influence motivated behaviors is a major challenge of neuroscience research. It has been proposed that the locus-cÅruleus-norepinephrine system promotes behavioral flexibility and provides resources required to face challenges in a wide range of cognitive processes. Both theoretical models and computational models suggest that the locus-cÅruleus-norepinephrine system tunes neural gain in brain circuits to optimize behavior. However, to the best of our knowledge, empirical proof demonstrating the role of norepinephrine in performance optimization is scarce. Here, we modulated norepinephrine transmission in monkeys performing a Go/No-Go discrimination task using atomoxetine, a norepinephrine-reuptake inhibitor. We tested the optimization hypothesis by assessing perceptual sensitivity, response bias, and their functional relationship within the framework of the signal detection theory. We also manipulated the contingencies of the task (level of stimulus discriminability, target stimulus frequency, and decision outcome values) to modulate the relationship between sensitivity and response bias. We found that atomoxetine increased the subject's perceptual sensitivity to discriminate target stimuli regardless of the task contingency. Atomoxetine also improved the functional relationship between sensitivity and response bias, leading to a closer fit with the optimal strategy in different contexts. In addition, atomoxetine tended to reduce reaction time variability. Taken together, these findings support a role of norepinephrine transmission in optimizing response strategy.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Tempo de Reação
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Locus Cerúleo
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Norepinefrina
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Inibidores da Captação Adrenérgica
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Tomada de Decisões
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Cloridrato de Atomoxetina
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article