Abstract
Commentary: Noradrenaline and Dopamine Neurons in the Reward/Effort Trade-off: A Direct Electrophysiological Comparison in Behaving Monkeys.
Highlights
A fundamental aspect of motivation is the evaluation of the costs and benefits of acting
Around action-onset, activity in both nuclei correlated positively with the required effort level, locus coeruleus (LC) activity was modulated by effort significantly more than substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc)
LC activity predicted force production and pupil dilatation even after factoring out the required effort level. Such effects were not observed in SNc neurons, indicating that the association between action-related activity and physical-physiological measures was particular to LC neurons
Summary
A fundamental aspect of motivation is the evaluation of the costs and benefits of acting. To ameliorate the negative effects of reduced motivation, a mechanistic understanding of the neurobiology of cost-benefit evaluation and energization is essential. Past research has implicated both dopamine (DA; Salamone and Correa, 2012) and noradrenaline (NA; Bouret and Richmond, 2015) as key neuromodulators in motivating and energizing behaviors.
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