The Detection of Novelty Relies on Dopaminergic Signaling: Evidence from Apomorphine's Impact on the Novelty N2 |
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| Authors: | Mauricio Rangel-Gomez Clayton Hickey Therese van Amelsvoort Pierre Bet Martijn Meeter |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Cognitive Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; 2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.; 3. Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacy, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; University G. D''Annunzio, Italy, |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
Despite much research, it remains unclear if dopamine is directly involved in novelty detection or plays a role in orchestrating the subsequent cognitive response. This ambiguity stems in part from a reliance on experimental designs where novelty is manipulated and dopaminergic activity is subsequently observed. Here we adopt the alternative approach: we manipulate dopamine activity using apomorphine (D1/D2 agonist) and measure the change in neurological indices of novelty processing. In separate drug and placebo sessions, participants completed a von Restorff task. Apomorphine speeded and potentiated the novelty-elicited N2, an Event-Related Potential (ERP) component thought to index early aspects of novelty detection, and caused novel-font words to be better recalled. Apomorphine also decreased the amplitude of the novelty-P3a. An increase in D1/D2 receptor activation thus appears to potentiate neural sensitivity to novel stimuli, causing this content to be better encoded. |
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