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Increased dopamine release in the human amygdala during performance of cognitive tasks

Nature Neuroscience volume 4, pages 201–206 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Accumulating data support a critical involvement of dopamine in the modulation of neuronal activity related to cognitive processing. The amygdala is a major target of midbrain dopaminergic neurons and is implicated in learning and memory processes, particularly those involving associations between novel stimuli and reward. We used intracerebral microdialysis to directly sample extracellular dopamine in the human amygdala during the performance of cognitive tasks. The initial transition from rest to either a working memory or a reading task was accompanied by significant increases in extracellular dopamine concentration of similar magnitude. During a sustained word paired-associates learning protocol, increase in dopamine release in the amygdala related to learning performance. These data provide evidence for sustained activation of the human mesolimbic dopaminergic system during performance of cognitive tasks.

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Figure 1: Coronal MRI section depicting electrodes placed horizontally in the left and right amygdala (left side of the brain is on the right and vice versa).
Figure 2: Changes in extracellular dopamine in the amygdala during the two sequences: reading–memory–reading and memory–reading–memory.
Figure 3: Dialysate dopamine concentrations from individual probes placed in the amygdala of subjects performing the memory–reading–memory sequence.
Figure 4: Dialysate dopamine concentrations from individual probes placed in the amygdala of subjects performing the reading–memory–reading sequence.
Figure 5: Increase in amygdala dialysate dopamine concentration during execution of a paired associates task.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. James for technical support, A. Tan for graphics production and I. M. Wainwright for editorial assistance. This study was supported by NIH NINDS grants NS33221, NS02808 and NS33310.

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Author notes

  1. Katherine A. Cameron

    Present address: Department of Physiology, University of Maryland, 655 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21201-1509, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurosurgery, Box 957039, UCLA School of Medicine, 740 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, 90095-7039, California, USA

    Itzhak Fried, Jack W. Morrow, Katherine A. Cameron & Eric D. Behnke

  2. Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Neuropsychatric Institute, UCLA School of Medicine, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, 90024, California

    Itzhak Fried, Larry C. Ackerson & Nigel T. Maidment

  3. Department of Neurology, Box 951759, UCLA School of Medicine, 740 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Charles L. Wilson

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Correspondence to Nigel T. Maidment.

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Fried, I., Wilson, C., Morrow, J. et al. Increased dopamine release in the human amygdala during performance of cognitive tasks. Nat Neurosci 4, 201–206 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/84041

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