Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.02.01.703151

Dopamine modulates striatal activity when controlling the output of working memory

Nielsen, N. M.·Calcott, R. D.·van den Bosch, R.·Olraun, H. S.·Spronkers, F. S.·den Ouden, H. E. M.·Cools, R.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Cognitive control depends on capacity-limited mechanisms that require selection. Working memory (WM) therefore relies on an input-gate to filter information into WM and an output-gate to transform current WM representations into a prioritised state to guide behaviour. According to current theory, such WM gating processes are modulated by dopamine in the striatum, yet empirical evidence for this hypothesis remains sparse. We fill this gap by directly testing the role of dopamine for both WM input-and output-gating in a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject fMRI study (N = 34; 23 female, 11 male human subjects), using a 400 mg oral dose of the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride. In our cued delayed-response task, which separated input-from output-gating, sulpiride altered neural activity in the striatum during output-gating. This effect was accompanied by a sulpiride-induced de-crease in the neural stimulus selectivity of gated sensory representations in visual association cortex, with greater decreases in stimulus selectivity correlating with reduced behavioural accuracy in the task. Together, the results establish a role for striatal dopamine during the control of cortical outflow of WM. Significance StatementTo act on a goal, the brain holds information in mind and brings the important parts into focus to guide what we do next. Scientists believe that this "selection" process involves dopamine, a chemical messenger, in a brain area called the striatum. We tested this by giving people a drug that alters dopamine activity in the brain. The drug changed how the striatum reacted when people selected information from memory. It also made the brains visual areas represent this information less clearly, and this change affected peoples behaviour. Therefore, we conclude that dopamine in the striatum plays a role when our brain controls which information in working memory is sent to other parts of the brain to guide actions.

Source connections

Explore related subjects

neurosciencePreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Nielsen, N. M., Calcott, R. D., van den Bosch, R., Olraun, H. S., Spronkers, F. S., den Ouden, H. E. M., Cools, R.. 2026-02-02. Dopamine modulates striatal activity when controlling the output of working memory. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.01.703151

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Cell Types in Describing Neuronal Physiological Features

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) captures detailed gene expression profiles at scale, while patch-clamp recordings measure intrinsic neuronal electrophysiological properties. Modeling the relations between these two modalities remains a challenge. Here, we compare how well electrophysiological features can be predicted by traditional transcriptomic cell type classification, representations derived from a foundational model (scGPT) pretrained on large-scale scRNA-seq datasets, ion channel-coding genes, and highly variable genes. Using paired transcriptomic and electrophysiological patch-sequencing data from 495 human neurons from neurosurgical tissue, we find that cluster-level cell type representations consistently outperform highly variable gene selection, ion channel gene selection, and context-enriched scGPT embeddings. Notably, performance varies across model architectures and initializations, and the best results are obtained by combining the outputs of separate cell type and scGPT-based models. Together, these findings suggest that traditional discrete cellular classification is highly effective in predicting physiological features. For maximum performance it can be complemented by pretrained transformer models.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

A nonlinear inhibition pathway underlying cortical responses to tuned holographic optogenetic perturbations

Optogenetics enables causal manipulation of cortical activity. Perturbation responses can be counterintuitive due to network interactions, making theory essential for predicting them. Existing approaches often rely on linear approximations, which fail for many biologically relevant perturbations. Here we develop a nonlinear theory of responses to holographic perturbations in cell-type-specific recurrent networks with structured connectivity. We fit a nonlinear model to mouse V1 data, which shows cotuned-ensemble suppression: perturbing spatially clustered neurons with similar preferred orientations yields markedly stronger short-range suppression than perturbing untuned ensembles. We show that cotuned-ensemble suppression arises from a feature-tuned, nonlinear inhibition pathway implicating somatostatin-positive (SST) interneurons. The theory predicts that cotuned ensembles suppress parvalbumin-positive (PV) neurons but facilitate SST neurons, and links the degree of cotuned-ensemble suppression or facilitation to the variance of the SST response. This framework identifies mechanisms by which nonlinear inhibition sculpts cortical dynamics and establishes a predictive basis for targeted optogenetic interventions.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Proteomic signatures of APOE ε4 across human tissues and cell types in Alzheimers disease

The apolipoprotein E {varepsilon}4 (APOE {varepsilon}4) allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimers disease (AD). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study included 1691 participants from the Religious Orders Study and Rush Memory and Aging Project (ROSMAP), 1226 participants from the Accelerating Medicines Partnership - Alzheimers Disease (AMP-AD) Diverse Cohorts Study, and 735 participants from the Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). To characterise APOE {varepsilon}4 molecular effects, we analysed proteomic data from plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived astrocytes and neurons, as well as transcriptomic and proteomic data from multiple brain regions. The association of APOE {varepsilon}4 with AD neuropathology was also examined. APOE {varepsilon}4 carriers shared a plasma proteomic signature enriched for immune processes, irrespective of AD diagnosis. A machine learning classifier trained on this signature discriminated APOE {varepsilon}4 carriers from non-carriers in an independent cohort using CSF proteomics. APOE {varepsilon}4 carriage was associated with higher Braak stages and Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimers Disease (CERAD) score. However, only limited APOE {varepsilon}4-associated transcriptomic and proteomic changes were observed in bulk brain tissue, with poor cross-layer concordance. Proteomic analyses of iPSC-derived astrocytes and neurons further revealed cell-type-specific APOE {varepsilon}4-associated changes. APOE {varepsilon}4 is associated with a consistent proteomic signature across plasma and CSF. Its molecular effects in the brain differ across cell types, brain regions and molecular layers. These findings support the need for cell-type-resolved multi-omic studies to elucidate how APOE {varepsilon}4 confers AD risk.

neuroscience↗