Abstract
Maintaining goal representations is a critical component of cognitive control and is required for successful performance in many daily activities. This is particularly important when goal-relevant information needs to be maintained in working memory (WM), updated in response to changing task demands or internal goal states, and protected from interference by inhibiting counter-goal behaviors. Modulation of fronto-striatal dopamine is critical for updating and maintaining goals and representations. Here we test the hypothesis that a genetic predisposition (C957T T+ and DRD2/ANKK1-TaqIA A+) for reduced striatal D2 receptor availability would facilitate goal maintenance using the AX-continuous performance task (AX-CPT), on a sample of 196 adults (25–67 y). We demonstrate that carriers of two polymorphisms that have been linked to reduced striatal D2 receptor density show increased performance on context-dependent (BX) trials, and that the effect of these polymorphisms was only significant for long ISI trials where the demand for goal maintenance is high. The current results add further knowledge to the role of D2 receptor functioning in cognitive stability and flexibility, and could have implications for understanding cognitive deficits in patients characterized by altered dopamine functioning.
Highlights
Goal directed behavior requires individuals to accurately balance between maintaining taskrelevant information and update information when the context changes
The comparison of short vs. long interstimulus intervals (ISIs) trials showed that accuracy for long ISI AY trials was significantly higher compared to short ISI AY trials (t(231) = 3.12, P = 0.002), and for AX trials the opposite pattern was found with accuracy for long ISI AX being lower compared with short ISI AX trials (t(231) = 2.89, P = 0.004)
Using the AX-continuous performance tasks (CPT) we demonstrate that carriers of two polymorphisms that have been linked to reduced striatal D2 receptor density show increased performance on context-dependent (BX) trials, and that the effect of these polymorphisms was only significant for long ISI trials where the demand for goal maintenance is high
Summary
Goal directed behavior requires individuals to accurately balance between maintaining taskrelevant information and update information when the context changes. A likely explanation for inconsistencies between studies could be the non-unity of executive control functions [39], and their differential demands on cognitive stability and flexibility, DRD2 polymorphisms and cognitive goal maintenance which are subserved by neural transmission in different neural structures [40] Taken together, these studies indicate that A+ and T+ individuals of the DRD2/ANKK1-TaqIA and C957T alleles respectively, demonstrate less cognitive flexibility, but may perform better on tasks taxing cognitive stability, such as cognitive goal maintenance. These studies indicate that A+ and T+ individuals of the DRD2/ANKK1-TaqIA and C957T alleles respectively, demonstrate less cognitive flexibility, but may perform better on tasks taxing cognitive stability, such as cognitive goal maintenance This hypothesis has not yet been tested. We believe that our results could have implications for understanding cognitive deficits in patients characterized by altered dopamine functioning, such as schizophrenia, depression, and Parkinson’s disease, and the relationship between dopamine and individual differences in higher cognitive functions in the general population
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