Dopamine Modulation of the Prefrontal Cortex and Cognitive Function

Abstract

This chapter will review the basic neurobiology of the dopamine (DA) system in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its functional role in cognition. It will consider the properties of DA release and of DA receptors in the PFC and how they may contribute to the overall function of the mesocortical DA system. DA release in the PFC occurs in response to a variety of events that can be appetitive or aversive in nature and this release may prepare the PFC networks to deal with environmental or cognitive challenges. The amount of DA released may selectively affect the different subtypes of receptors on PFC neurons, which in turn have different modulatory actions on PFC networks. It has been proposed that the PFC DA system and especially D1 receptors are tuned according to an inverted-U dose–response function such that too much or too little DA or D1 receptor activation is detrimental to cognitive performance. At optimal levels, DA acting via D1 receptors may increase the signal-to-noise ratio to improve the efficiency of active PFC networks, while levels higher or lower levels may reduce the overall signal to noise but allow PFC networks to deal with information in a more flexible manner. The key to understanding the PFC DA system may lie in understanding how a balance is achieved to promote optimal modulation across a variety of situations.