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Parallel Maturation of Goal-Directed Behavior and Dopaminergic Systems during Adolescence

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journal contribution
posted on 2021-09-24, 11:00 authored by Fabien Naneix, Alain R Marchand, Georges Di Scala, Jean-Remi Pape, Etienne Coutureau
Adolescence is a crucial developmental period characterized by specific behaviors reflecting the immaturity of decision-making abilities. However, the maturation of precise cognitive processes and their neurobiological correlates at this period remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate whether a differential developmental time course of dopamine (DA) pathways during late adolescence could explain the emergence of particular executive and motivational components of goal-directed behavior. First, using a contingency degradation protocol, we demonstrate that adolescent rats display a specific deficit when the causal relationship between their actions and their consequences is changed. When the rats become adults, this deficit disappears. In contrast, actions of adolescents remain sensitive to outcome devaluation or to the influence of a pavlovian-conditioned stimulus. This aspect of cognitive maturation parallels a delayed development of the DA system, especially the mesocortical pathway involved in action adaptation to rule changes. Unlike in striatal and nucleus accumbens regions, DA fibers and DA tissue content continue to increase in the medial prefrontal cortex from juvenile to adult age. Moreover, a sustained overexpression of DA receptors is observed in the prefrontal region until the end of adolescence. These findings highlight the relationship between the emergence of specific cognitive processes, in particular the adaptation to changes in action consequences, and the delayed maturation of the mesocortical DA pathway. Similar developmental processes in humans could contribute to the adolescent vulnerability to the emergence of several psychiatric disorders characterized by decision-making deficits.

History

Citation

Journal of Neuroscience 14 November 2012, 32 (46) 16223-16232; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3080-12.2012

Author affiliation

Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Life Sciences

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Published in

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE

Volume

32

Issue

46

Pagination

16223 - 16232

Publisher

Society for Neuroscience

issn

0270-6474

eissn

1529-2401

Acceptance date

2012-09-17

Copyright date

2021

Available date

2021-09-24

Spatial coverage

United States

Language

English