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Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Toward a unifying account of dopamine’s role in cost-benefit decision making
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Alexander Soutschek
  • Alexander Jetter
  • Philippe Tobler
Item Subtype Further Contribution (e.g. review article, editorial)
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science
Publisher Elsevier
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 2667-1743
Volume 3
Number 2
Page Range 179 - 186
Date 2023
Abstract Text Dopamine is thought to play a crucial role in cost-benefit decision making, but so far there is no consensus on the precise role of dopamine in decision making. Here, we review the literature on dopaminergic manipulations of cost-benefit decision making in humans and evaluate how well different theoretical accounts explain the existing body of evidence. Reduced D2 stimulation tends to increase the willingness to bear delay and risk costs (i.e., wait for later rewards, take riskier options), while increased D1 and D2 receptor stimulation increases willingness to bear effort costs. We argue that the empirical findings can best be explained by combining the strengths of two theoretical accounts: in cost-benefit decision making, dopamine may play a dual role both in promoting the pursuit of psychologically close options (e.g., sooner and safer rewards) and in computing which costs are acceptable for a reward at stake. Moreover, we identify several limiting factors in the study designs of previous investigations that prevented a fuller understanding of dopamine’s role in value-based choice. Together, the proposed theoretical framework and the methodological suggestions for future studies may bring us closer to a unifying account of dopamine in healthy and impaired cost-benefit decision making.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.02.010
Other Identification Number merlin-id:24426
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Keywords Materials chemistry, delay discounting, dopamine, effort discounting, psychopharmacology, reward, risky decision making