Disentangling the roles of dopamine and noradrenaline in the exploration-exploitation tradeoff during human decision-making

This study investigated the distinct roles of dopamine and noradrenaline in the exploration-exploitation tradeoff during human decision-making using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Participants received either a placebo, amisulpride (D2/D3 receptor antagonist), or propranolol (β-adrenergic receptor antagonist) before completing a virtual patch-foraging task. Amisulpride increased sensitivity to reward values, reward decrease rates, and switching costs, suggesting a role in directed exploration. Propranolol reduced the use of value information, implying involvement in random exploration. The findings suggest dopamine's critical involvement in directed exploration and noradrenaline's role in more random exploration.

Anna Cremer, Felix Kalbe, Jana Christina Müller, Klaus Wiedemann, Lars Schwabe