RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Mesolimbic Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Activations during Reward Anticipation Correlate with Reward-Related Ventral Striatal Dopamine Release
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 14311
OP 14319
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2058-08.2008
VO 28
IS 52
A1 Björn H. Schott
A1 Luciano Minuzzi
A1 Ruth M. Krebs
A1 David Elmenhorst
A1 Markus Lang
A1 Oliver H. Winz
A1 Constanze I. Seidenbecher
A1 Heinz H. Coenen
A1 Hans-Jochen Heinze
A1 Karl Zilles
A1 Emrah Düzel
A1 Andreas Bauer
YR 2008
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/52/14311.abstract
AB The dopaminergic mechanisms that control reward-motivated behavior are the subject of intense study, but it is yet unclear how, in humans, neural activity in mesolimbic reward-circuitry and its functional neuroimaging correlates are related to dopamine release. To address this question, we obtained functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures of reward-related neural activity and [11C]raclopride positron emission tomography measures of dopamine release in the same human participants, while they performed a delayed monetary incentive task. Across the cohort, a positive correlation emerged between neural activity of the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), the main origin of dopaminergic neurotransmission, during reward anticipation and reward-related [11C]raclopride displacement as an index of dopamine release in the ventral striatum, major target of SN/VTA dopamine neurons. Neural activity in the ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens itself also correlated with ventral striatal dopamine release. Additionally, high-reward-related dopamine release was associated with increased activation of limbic structures, such as the amygdala and the hippocampus. The observed correlations of reward-related mesolimbic fMRI activation and dopamine release provide evidence that dopaminergic neurotransmission plays a quantitative role in human mesolimbic reward processing. Moreover, the combined neurochemical and hemodynamic imaging approach used here opens up new perspectives for the investigation of molecular mechanisms underlying human cognition.