A mosaic of cost–benefit control over cortico-striatal circuitry. Issue 8 (August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Westbrook, Andrew; Frank, Michael J.; Cools, Roshan
• Is Part Of: Trends in cognitive sciences. Volume 25:Issue 8(2021)
• Page Start: 710
• Page End: 721
• Publication Date: 2021-08
• Subjects: dopamine -- cognitive control -- cortico-striatal circuit -- motivation -- cognitive effort -- working memory; Cognitive science -- Periodicals; Cognitive neuroscience -- Periodicals; 153.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.04.007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1364-6613

Abstract

Abstract : Dopamine contributes to cognitive control through well-established effects in both the striatum and cortex. Although earlier work suggests that dopamine affects cognitive control capacity, more recent work suggests that striatal dopamine may also impact on cognitive motivation. We consider the emerging perspective that striatal dopamine boosts control by making people more sensitive to the benefits versus the costs of cognitive effort, and we discuss how this sensitivity shapes competition between controlled and prepotent actions. We propose that dopamine signaling in distinct cortico-striatal subregions mediates different types of cost–benefit tradeoffs, and also discuss mechanisms for the local control of dopamine release, enabling selectivity among cortico-striatal circuits. In so doing, we show how this cost–benefit mosaic can reconcile seemingly conflicting findings about the impact of dopamine signaling on cognitive control. Highlights: Striatal dopamine can promote cognitive control by increasing sensitivity to the benefits and decreasing sensitivity to the costs of cognitive effort. The opportunity costs of time may also be signaled by striatal dopamine, biasing disengagement from control-demanding tasks in rich environments. A hierarchical, cortico-striatal architecture for action selection implies spatial heterogeneity in the types of cost–benefit tradeoffs that are mediated by dopamine signaling in distinct striatal subregions.