B3

Aging and neuromodulation of forward planning under uncertainty

PROJECT AIMS

Being part of the CRC940’s B cluster „modulators“, project B3 aims at investigating the role of neuromodulatory systems in regulating the balance between complementary control processes and how these neuromodulatory effects are further moderated by individual differences during adult development. In the 1st funding period, B3/1 investigated the role of dopamine in regulating different meta-control parameters. To this end, the project combined the assessment of baseline dopamine levels using F-DOPA PET with a pharmacological dopamine challenge using L-DOPA vs. placebo and a set of cognitive control tasks performed during fMRI assessment. In the 2nd funding period, leveraging aging-related decline in dopamine modulation, project B3/2 investigated interactions between a pharmacological dopamine intervention and aging on the prioritization of model-based vs. model-free control during spatial navigation and sequential decision making. Results from studies conducted in the 1st funding period and current analyses of data from the 2nd funding phase can together be highlighted in two aspects: (i) individual and age-related differences in dopamine modulation affect the prioritization between different modes of control in several domains of functions and (ii) baseline dopamine availability moderates the effects of L-DOPA.

For further details on B3/2 please click here

Extending our focus on control prioritization, in the 3rd funding period, project B3/3 investigates the effects of dopamine intervention and aging on underlying processes of meta-control during situations that require forward planning and the selection of optimal control policies under uncertainty. We plan to  conduct a pharmaco-fMRI study with healthy younger and older adults to investigate whether aging and L-DOPA may interactively affect the impacts of transitional uncertainty in the task environment on neurocognitive processes for inferring hidden state transitions and selecting control policies. Using the active inference framework and model-based fMRI analysis, we will specifically examine the role of dopamine in estimating 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 dopamine dysfunctions.

This project synergizes with a range of other projects in the CRC – with projects A9 and Z2 regarding computational methods, with projects B7 regarding the focus on lifespan development of meta-control mechanisms and with project B8 regarding the emphasis on neuromodulation of control dilemmas.

Project Members

Principal Investigators

Prof. Shu-Chen Li, Ph.D.
Professor for Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience (W3)

Prof. Dr. med. Michael N. Smolka
Deputy Spokesperson CRC 940; Professor for Systems Neuroscience (W2)        

Dr. rer. nat. Franka Glöckner                                                                                                        Postdoctoral Rechearcher

Staff

Dr. sc. hum. Christian Bäuchl
Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. rer. nat. Lorenz Gönner
Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. med. univ. Johannes Petzold
Physician, Postdoctoral Researcher

Marina Lukezic                                                                                                                     Physician, Postdoctoral Researcher

M.Sc. Sophia-Helen Sass
Doctoral Researcher

PUBLICATIONS

  • Riedel, P., Domachowska, I.M., Lee, Y. et al. (2022).L-DOPA administration shifts the stability-flexibility balance towards attentional capture by distractors during a visual search task. Psychopharmacology 239, 867–885. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-022-06077-w

  • Glöckner, F., Schuck, N. W., & Li, S. C. (2021). Differential prioritization of intramaze cue and boundary information during spatial navigation across the human lifespan. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94530-9

  • Baeuchl, C., Kroemer, N., Pooseh, S., Petzold, J., Bitzer, S., Thurm, F., ... & Smolka, M. N. (2020). Reward modulates the association between sensory noise and brain activity during perceptual decision-making. Neuropsychologia, 149, 107675. doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107675

  • Petzold J, Lee Y, Pooseh S, Oehme L, Beuthien-Baumann B, London ED, Goschke T, Smolka MN. (2019). Presynaptic dopamine function measured with [18F]fluorodopa and L-DOPA effects on impulsive choice. Sci Rep. 2019 Nov 29;9(1):17927. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54329-1. 

  • Baeuchl, C., Chen, H.-Y., Su, Y.-S., Hämmerer, D., Klados, M., & Li, S.-C. (2019). Interactive effects of dopamine transporter genotype and aging on resting-state functional networks. PLOS ONE, 4(5): e0215849. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215849

  • Kroemer, N. B., Lee, Y., Pooseh, S., Eppinger, B., Goschke, T., & Smolka, M. N. (2019). L-DOPA reduces model-free control of behavior by attenuating the transfer of value to action. NeuroImage, 186, 113-125. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.075

  • Petzold, J., Kienast, A., Lee, Y., Pooseh, S., London, E. D., Goschke, T., & Smolka, M. N. (2019). Baseline impulsivity may moderate L-DOPA effects on value-based decision-making. Scientific Reports 9(1): 5652. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42124-x

  • Adelhöfer, N., Gohil, K., Passow, S., Teufert, B., Roessner, V., Li, S.-C. & Beste, C. (2018). The system-neurophysiological basis for how methylphenidate modulates perceptual-attentional conflicts during auditory processing. Human Brain Mapping, 39, 5050-5061. doi:10.1002/hbm.24344

  • Beste, C., Adelhöfer, N., Gohil, K., Passow, S., Roessner, V., & Li, S.-C. (2018). Dopamine modulates the efficiency of sensory evidence accumulation during perceptual decision making. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 21, 649-655. doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyy019

  • Lee, Y., Kroemer., N. B., Oehme, L., Beuthien-Baumann, B., Goschke, T., & Smolka, M. N. (2018). Lower dopamine tone in the striatum is associated with higher body mass index. European Neuropsychopharmacology 28(6), 719-731. doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.03.009

  • Thurm, F., Zink, N., & Li, S. C. (2018). Comparing effects of reward anticipation on working memory in younger and older adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2318. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02318

  • Thurm F., Schuck N. W., Fauser M., Doeller C. F., Stankevich Y., Evens, R., ... Li, S.-C. (2016). Dopamine modulation of spatial memory performance in parkinson’s disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 38, 93-103. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2015.10.019

  • Ripke, S., Hübner, T., Mennigen, E., Müller, K. U., Li, S.-C., & Smolka, M. N. (2015). Common neural correlates of intertemporal choices and intelligence in adolescents. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 27(2), 387-99. doi:10.1162/jocn_a_00698
  • Javadi, A. H., Schmidt, D. H., & Smolka, M. N. (2014). Differential representation of feedback and decision in adolescents and adults. Neuropsychologia, 56, 280-288. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.021
  • Li, S.-C., & Rieckmann, A. (2014). Neuromodulation and aging: Implications of aging neuronal gain control on cognition. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 29, 148-158. doi:10.1016/j.conb.2014.07.009
  • Nymberg, C., Banaschewski, T., Bokde, A. L., Buchel, C., Conrod, P., Flor, H., ... Klingberg, T. (2014). DRD2/ANKK1 polymorphism modulates the effect of ventral striatal activation on working memory performance. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(10), 2357-2365. doi:10.1038/npp.2014.83
  • Rodehacke, S., Mennigen, E., Müller, K. U., Ripke, S., Jacob, M. J., Hübner, T., ... Smolka, M. N. (2014). Interindividual differences in mid-adolescents in error monitoring and post-error adjustment. PLOS ONE, 9(2), e88957. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088957
  • Kroemer, N. B., Guevara, A., Vollstädt-Klein, S., & Smolka, M. N. (2013). Nicotine alters food-cue reactivity via networks extending from the hypothalamus. Neuropsychopharmacology, 38(11), 2307-2314.                                               doi:10.1038/npp.2013.133
  • Kroemer, N. B., Krebs, L., Kobiella, A., Grimm, O., Pilhatsch, M., Bidlingmaier, M., ... Smolka, M. N. (2013). Fasting levels of ghrelin covary with the brain response to food pictures. Addiction Biology, 18(5), 855-862. doi:10.1111/j.1369-1600.2012.00489.x
  • Kroemer, N. B., Krebs, L., Kobiella, A., Grimm, O., Vollstädt-Klein, S., Wolfensteller, U., ... Smolka, M. N. (2013). (Still) longing for food: Insulin reactivity modulates response to food pictures. Human Brain Mapping, 34(10), 2367-2380. doi:10.1002/hbm.22071
  • Müller, K. U., Mennigen, E., Ripke, S., Banaschewski, T., Barker, G. J., Büchel, C., ... Smolka, M. N. (2013). Altered reward processing in adolescents with prenatal exposure to maternal cigarette smoking. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(8), 847-856. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.44
  • Papenberg, G., Haemmerer, D., Müller, V., Lindenberger, U., & Li, S.-C. (2013). Lower theta inter-trial phasecoherence during performance monitoring is related to reaction time variability: A lifespan study. NeuroImage, 83, 912-920. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.07.032

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Solveig Otto
Last modified: May 24, 2023