Age-Related Trajectories of Functional Coupling between the VTA and Nucleus Accumbens Depend on Motivational State

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Vishnu P MurtyBeatriz Luna

Abstract

Over-engagement of the mesolimbic dopamine system is thought to enhance motivation in adolescents. Whereas human neuroimaging has characterized event-evoked responses of the mesolimbic system in adolescents, research has yet to characterize state-dependent engagement (i.e., seconds to minutes) of this system in goal-relevant contexts. In the current longitudinal study, we characterized age-related changes in state-dependent coupling in male and female human participants ranging in age from adolescence to adulthood. Analyses focused on two key regions of the mesolimbic dopamine system, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Although there were no differences in VTA-NAcc functional coupling in a resting-state context, VTA-NAcc functional coupling was enhanced in preadolescence/early adolescence and decreased into adulthood in a motivational context, in which individuals had to translate goal-relevant cues into instrumental actions. Furthermore, we found that task-related activation in orbitofrontal cortex, middle temporal gyrus, and visual association cortex partially mediated age-related changes in state-dependent VTA-NAcc functional coupling. These results extend prior models of neurodevelopment by showi...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 5, 2021·Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience·Anne T ParkAllyson P Mackey
Jan 17, 2021·Biological Psychiatry·Tara S Peris, Adriana Galván

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