Psychology

Dopamine regulates decision thresholds in human reinforcement learning in males

K. Chakroun, A. Wiehler, et al.

Using pharmacological neuroimaging in 31 male volunteers (within-subjects: Placebo, 150 mg L‑dopa, 2 mg Haloperidol), this study found little evidence for previously reported L‑dopa benefits on gain learning or prediction-error signals, but reinforcement-learning drift diffusion models revealed consistent decision-threshold reductions under both drugs—supporting that dopamine regulates decision thresholds and links action selection with response vigor. Research conducted by Karima Chakroun, Antonius Wiehler, Ben Wagner, David Mathar, Florian Ganzer, Thilo van Eimeren, Tobias Sommer, and Jan Peters.