Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Identification of Dopamine D1-Alpha Receptor Within Rodent Nucleus Accumbens by an Innovative RNA In Situ Detection Technology
07:25

Identification of Dopamine D1-Alpha Receptor Within Rodent Nucleus Accumbens by an Innovative RNA In Situ Detection Technology

Published on: March 27, 2018

Extrastriatal dopamine D2 receptor binding modulates intraindividual variability in episodic recognition and

Stuart W S MacDonald1, Simon Cervenka, Lars Farde

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Neuropsychologia
|June 16, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Characterisation of Encephalitozoon cuniculi α-actinin.

Molecular and biochemical parasitology·2026
Same author

10-year longitudinal dopamine D2-receptor losses are associated with cognitive decline in healthy aging.

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)·2025
Same author

Cerebral small-vessel disease severity, hypertension, and body mass index forecast striatal dopamine D2-receptor decline rates in aging.

Neurobiology of aging·2025
Same author

Dedifferentiation of caudate functional organization is linked to reduced D1 dopamine receptor availability and poorer memory function in aging.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2025
Same author

Two long-axis dimensions of hippocampal-cortical integration support memory function across the adult lifespan.

eLife·2025
Same author

Respiratory influence on cerebral blood flow and blood volume - A 4D flow MRI study.

Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism·2025

This study explores how dopamine levels in specific brain regions outside the striatum relate to fluctuations in a person's cognitive performance over time. Researchers found that lower dopamine receptor availability in the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus is linked to greater inconsistency in memory and executive task performance. These results support theories suggesting that dopamine signaling outside the brain's primary reward centers helps stabilize cognitive processing.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience research investigating extrastriatal dopamine D2 receptor binding within cognitive psychology
  • Clinical neurology and behavioral science

Background:

Fluctuations in cognitive performance over time, known as intraindividual variability, remain poorly understood in healthy populations. Prior research has shown that inconsistent response times often correlate with various neurological and psychiatric disorders. That uncertainty drove interest in whether dopamine signaling pathways influence these transient behavioral shifts. It was already known that dopamine neuromodulation is altered in conditions like Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. No prior work had resolved if similar mechanisms operate within the brains of healthy middle-aged adults. This gap motivated an investigation into specific receptor availability across different cortical regions. Prior studies frequently prioritized striatal regions, leaving extrastriatal contributions largely unexplored. Researchers now seek to determine if these cortical areas play a distinct role in cognitive stability.

Purpose Of The Study:

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between extrastriatal dopamine D2 receptor binding and cognitive performance variability. Researchers sought to determine if dopamine availability in cortical regions influences the consistency of memory and executive tasks. This inquiry addresses the lack of clarity regarding how neurochemical variations impact within-person behavioral shifts in healthy adults. The team focused on identifying whether specific brain areas contribute differently to cognitive stability. They hypothesized that extrastriatal dopamine signaling plays a distinct role compared to striatal pathways. By examining middle-aged individuals, the study explores these dynamics in a population without severe neurological impairment. The motivation stems from the need to understand the biological basis of transient performance changes. This work clarifies the functional significance of dopamine receptors located outside the primary striatal reward system.

Keywords:
neuroimagingexecutive functionepisodic memorydopamine signaling

Frequently Asked Questions

The researchers propose that lower dopamine D2 receptor binding in the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus correlates with increased intraindividual standard deviation. This mechanism suggests that extrastriatal dopamine signaling helps stabilize cognitive performance across episodic recognition and executive tasks.

The study utilizes Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to quantify D2 receptor availability. This imaging tool allows for the measurement of receptor binding potential across various brain regions, including the striatum and extrastriatal cortical areas, to assess their relationship with behavioral consistency.

The authors suggest that extrastriatal regions are necessary for modulating cognitive stability, as they found significant associations between receptor binding and performance variability in the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus, whereas the striatum showed no such link.

More Related Videos

Comprehensive Profiling of Dopamine Regulation in Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area
09:54

Comprehensive Profiling of Dopamine Regulation in Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area

Published on: August 10, 2012

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra
05:14

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra

Published on: September 8, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Identification of Dopamine D1-Alpha Receptor Within Rodent Nucleus Accumbens by an Innovative RNA In Situ Detection Technology
07:25

Identification of Dopamine D1-Alpha Receptor Within Rodent Nucleus Accumbens by an Innovative RNA In Situ Detection Technology

Published on: March 27, 2018

Comprehensive Profiling of Dopamine Regulation in Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area
09:54

Comprehensive Profiling of Dopamine Regulation in Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area

Published on: August 10, 2012

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra
05:14

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra

Published on: September 8, 2021

Main Methods:

The review approach involved analyzing data from a cohort of healthy middle-aged participants. Investigators employed Positron Emission Tomography to map receptor availability across several distinct brain structures. They specifically targeted the striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus for quantitative assessment. Cognitive testing included standardized tasks designed to evaluate episodic recognition and executive functioning. The team computed the intraindividual standard deviation to capture fluctuations in response latency across successful trials. Statistical models examined the correlation between regional receptor binding and these calculated variability indices. This design allowed for a direct comparison between cortical and subcortical dopamine influences. The researchers maintained a focus on identifying systematic links between neurochemical measures and behavioral performance consistency.

Main Results:

Key findings from the literature indicate that lower dopamine D2 receptor binding in extrastriatal regions correlates with increased performance variability. Specifically, reduced binding in the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus associates with higher intraindividual standard deviations. These results emerge from assessments of both episodic recognition memory and executive functioning tasks. The data show that these cortical associations remain significant even when controlling for other variables. Conversely, the striatum does not demonstrate a significant link to these measures of cognitive inconsistency. The observed patterns suggest a specialized role for cortical dopamine in maintaining stable behavioral output. These findings align with theoretical frameworks proposing that extrastriatal neurotransmission regulates the precision of cognitive processing. The evidence highlights a clear distinction between the functional roles of striatal and extrastriatal dopamine receptors.

Conclusions:

The authors propose that extrastriatal dopamine neurotransmission modulates the consistency of cognitive performance. Their findings suggest that lower receptor binding in specific cortical areas correlates with higher performance instability. This synthesis implies that dopamine signaling outside the striatum is relevant for maintaining stable cognitive output. The researchers observe that these results align with existing neurocomputational frameworks regarding brain function. They indicate that the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus are key sites for this regulation. The evidence does not support a similar role for striatal dopamine in this specific context. These observations provide a basis for understanding how neurochemical variations influence everyday cognitive fluctuations. The study highlights the importance of considering extrastriatal regions when examining the biological underpinnings of cognitive variability.

The researchers calculated the intraindividual standard deviation (ISD) using successful response latency trials. This metric serves as an index for performance fluctuations, allowing the team to quantify the consistency of cognitive outcomes during memory and executive tasks.

The study measures D2 receptor binding potential in the striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus. These specific anatomical sites were chosen to compare the influence of traditional reward-related pathways against broader cortical networks on cognitive consistency.

The authors imply that their findings support neurocomputational models of brain function. They suggest that their data provides evidence for how dopamine neurotransmission outside the striatum contributes to the regulation of cognitive variability in healthy middle-aged adults.