Dopamine, Working Memory, and Training Induced Plasticity: Implications for Developmental Research Dopamine and Working Memory Evidence from Primates

Cognitive deficits and particularly deficits in working memory (WM) capacity are common features in neuropsychiatric disorders. Understanding the underlying mechanisms through which WM capacity can be improved is therefore of great importance. Several lines of research indicate that dopamine plays an important role not only in WM function but also for improving WM capacity. For example, pharmacological interventions acting on the dopaminergic system, such as methylpheni-date, improve WM performance. In addition, behavioral interventions for improving WM performance in the form of intensive computerized training have recently been associated with changes in dopamine receptor density. These two different means of improving WM performance— pharmacological and behavioral—are thus associated with similar biological mechanisms in the brain involving dopaminergic systems. This article reviews some of the evidence for the role of dopamine in WM functioning, in particular concerning the link to WM development and cognitive plasticity. Novel data are presented showing that variation in the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) influences improvements in WM and fluid intelligence in preschool-age children following cognitive training. Our results emphasize the importance of the role of dopamine in determining cognitive plasticity. Working memory (WM) is the ability to manipulate and keep task relevant information in mind for a short period of time. This is important for reasoning, which typically involves several steps of planning and execution. WM deficits are commonly observed in several neuropsychiatric disorders occurring during development, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Castella-nos & Tannock, 2002; Martinussen, Hayden, Hogg-Johnson, & Tannock, 2005). WM capacity is also strongly associated with general intellectual ability and is a predictor for later academic The link between WM and dopamine has been investigated at a cellular level by studying neurons exhibiting memory fields in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of monkeys. These neurons are believed to be the cellular basis for visuospatial WM as they are specifically active in response to distinct spatial locations of a stimulus and are also active during the delay period between stimulus presentation and response. Dopamine D1 receptor antagonists enhance the response of these neurons (Williams & Goldman-Rakic, 1995). This effect seems restricted to the D1 receptor, as no effect of a D2 agonist was observed in the same study. Effects were also dose dependent and specific to the neurons displaying memory field properties. D1 receptor stimulation can also lead to long-term improvements in WM performance, as observed in rhesus monkeys with either age-related (Castner & Goldman-Rakic, 2004) …

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