Cited by 60Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies

Dopamine-related striatal neurophysiology is associated with specialization of frontostriatal reward circuitry through adolescence

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Parr, Ashley C., Calabro, Finnegan, Larsen, Bart, Tervo-Clemmens, Brenden, Elliot, Samuel, Foran, Will, Olafsson, Valur, Luna, Beatriz·2021·Progress in Neurobiology

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Abstract

Characterizing developmental changes in frontostriatal circuitry is critical to understanding adolescent development and can clarify neurobiological mechanisms underlying increased reward sensitivity and risk-taking and the emergence of psychopathology during this period. However, the role of striatal neurobiology in the development of frontostriatal circuitry through human adolescence remains largely unknown. We examined background connectivity during a reward-guided decision-making task ("reward-state"), in addition to resting-state, and assessed the association between age-related changes in frontostriatal connectivity and age-related changes in reward learning and risk-taking through adolescence. Further, we examined the contribution of dopaminergic processes to changes in frontostriatal circuitry and decision-making using MR-based assessments of striatal tissue-iron as a correlate of dopamine-related neurobiology. Connectivity between the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and ventral anterior cingulate, subgenual cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortices decreased through adolescence into adulthood, and decreases in reward-state connectivity were associated with improvements reward-guided decision-making as well as with decreases in risk-taking. Finally, NAcc tissue-iron mediated age-related changes and was associated with variability in connectivity, and developmental increases in NAcc R2' corresponded with developmental decreases in connectivity. Our results provide evidence that dopamine-related striatal properties contribute to the specialization of frontostriatal circuitry, potentially underlying changes in risk-taking and reward sensitivity into adulthood.

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  • Functional imaging studies indicate significant changes occur in the function of subcortical structures and in their relationship with cortical regions, notably in nuclei associated with reward and motivation.

    “Functional imaging studies further indicate that significant changes occur in the function of subcortical structures and in their relationship with cortical regions, notably in nuclei associated with reward and motivation [26–29].”

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Authors
Parr, A. C., Calabro, F., Larsen, B., Tervo-Clemmens, B., Elliot, S., Foran, W., Olafsson, V., & Luna, B.
Affiliations
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • Northeastern University (US)
Corresponding author
Parr, Ashley C.
Venue
Progress in Neurobiology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-06
Volume
201
Pages
101997
ISSN
0301-0082 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3135321649
Cited by
60
References
196
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 5
FWCI
3.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Progress in Neurobiology (publishedVersion)
  • SSRN Electronic Journal (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Keywords
frontostriatal circuits, adolescence, dopamine, nucleus accumbens, risk-taking, reward sensitivity, resting-state functional connectivity, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, brain development, R2* MRI
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Dopamine, Humans, Iron, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neural Pathways, Neurophysiology, Reward

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