Noradrenaline and dopamine: sharing the Workload

Trends Neurosci. 2015 Aug;38(8):465-7. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2015.07.001. Epub 2015 Jul 14.

Abstract

Varazzani and colleagues explored how noradrenergic and dopaminergic neural activity relates to cost/benefit decisions involving effort. They show these systems may play complementary roles in resolving these decisions; dopamine encodes cost-discounted values of rewards, whereas noradrenergic cells modify activity in relation to the amount of effort required to obtain them.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Adrenergic Neurons / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Decision Making*
  • Dopaminergic Neurons / physiology*
  • Male
  • Reward*