Dopamine modulates neural networks involved in effort-based decision-making

Recent animal and human studies suggest that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and its related subcortical structures including nucleus accumbens (NAc) are in the center of a brain network that determines and pursues the best option from available alternatives. Specifically, the involvement of the dACC network in decision-making can be categorized under two broad processes of evaluation and execution. The former aims to determine the most cost-effective option while the latter aims to attain the preferred option. The present article reviews neural and molecular findings to show that the dopamine system might modulate this dACC network at multiple levels to optimize both processes. Several lines of evidence suggest that the dopamine system has a bimodal effect, allows the network to compare different representations in the evaluation phase, and focuses the network on the preferred representation in the execution phase. This is apparently achieved by modulating other neurotransmission systems and by transmitting different signals via D1 vs. D2 receptor subtypes and phasic vs. tonic firing. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.