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Research Articles, Behavioral/Cognitive

Dopaminergic Modulation of Dynamic Emotion Perception

B. A. Schuster, S. Sowden, A. J. Rybicki, D. S. Fraser, C. Press, P. Holland and J. L. Cook
Journal of Neuroscience 25 May 2022, 42 (21) 4394-4400; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2364-21.2022
B. A. Schuster
1School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
2Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
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  • ORCID record for B. A. Schuster
S. Sowden
1School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
2Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
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A. J. Rybicki
1School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
2Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
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D. S. Fraser
1School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
2Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
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C. Press
3Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck University of London, London, WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom
4Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom
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P. Holland
5Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, SE14 6NW, United Kingdom
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J. L. Cook
1School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
2Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Emotion recognition abilities are fundamental to our everyday social interaction. A large number of clinical populations show impairments in this domain, with emotion recognition atypicalities being particularly prevalent among disorders exhibiting a dopamine system disruption (e.g., Parkinson's disease). Although this suggests a role for dopamine in emotion recognition, studies employing dopamine manipulation in healthy volunteers have exhibited mixed neural findings and no behavioral modulation. Interestingly, while a dependence of dopaminergic drug effects on individual baseline dopamine function has been well established in other cognitive domains, the emotion recognition literature so far has failed to account for these possible interindividual differences. The present within-subjects study therefore tested the effects of the dopamine D2 antagonist haloperidol on emotion recognition from dynamic, whole-body stimuli while accounting for interindividual differences in baseline dopamine. A total of 33 healthy male and female adults rated emotional point-light walkers (PLWs) once after ingestion of 2.5 mg haloperidol and once after placebo. To evaluate potential mechanistic pathways of the dopaminergic modulation of emotion recognition, participants also performed motoric and counting-based indices of temporal processing. Confirming our hypotheses, effects of haloperidol on emotion recognition depended on baseline dopamine function, where individuals with low baseline dopamine showed enhanced, and those with high baseline dopamine decreased emotion recognition. Drug effects on emotion recognition were related to drug effects on movement-based and explicit timing mechanisms, indicating possible mediating effects of temporal processing. Results highlight the need for future studies to account for baseline dopamine and suggest putative mechanisms underlying the dopaminergic modulation of emotion recognition.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A high prevalence of emotion recognition difficulties among clinical conditions where the dopamine system is affected suggests an involvement of dopamine in emotion recognition processes. However, previous psychopharmacological studies seeking to confirm this role in healthy volunteers thus far have failed to establish whether dopamine affects emotion recognition and lack mechanistic insights. The present study uncovered effects of dopamine on emotion recognition in healthy individuals by controlling for interindividual differences in baseline dopamine function and investigated potential mechanistic pathways via which dopamine may modulate emotion recognition. Our findings suggest that dopamine may influence emotion recognition via its effects on temporal processing, providing new directions for future research on typical and atypical emotion recognition.

  • cognition
  • dopamine
  • emotion
  • psychopharmacology
  • temporal processing
  • working memory

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The Journal of Neuroscience: 42 (21)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 42, Issue 21
25 May 2022
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Dopaminergic Modulation of Dynamic Emotion Perception
B. A. Schuster, S. Sowden, A. J. Rybicki, D. S. Fraser, C. Press, P. Holland, J. L. Cook
Journal of Neuroscience 25 May 2022, 42 (21) 4394-4400; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2364-21.2022

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Dopaminergic Modulation of Dynamic Emotion Perception
B. A. Schuster, S. Sowden, A. J. Rybicki, D. S. Fraser, C. Press, P. Holland, J. L. Cook
Journal of Neuroscience 25 May 2022, 42 (21) 4394-4400; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2364-21.2022
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Keywords

  • cognition
  • dopamine
  • emotion
  • psychopharmacology
  • temporal processing
  • working memory

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