Dissociable contribution of prefrontal and striatal dopaminergic genes to learning in economic games

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Authors
Set, Eric
Saez, Ignacio
Zhu, Lusha
Houser, Daniel E.
Myung, Noah
Zhong, Songfa
Ebstein, Richard P.
Chew, Soo Hong
Hsu, Ming
Subjects
neuroeconomics
experience-weighted attraction
eigenSNPs
Advisors
Date of Issue
2014
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Abstract
Game theory describes strategic interactions where success of players’ actions depends on those of coplayers. In humans, substantial progress has been made at the neural level in characterizing the dopaminergic and frontostriatal mechanisms mediating such behavior. Here we combined computational modeling of strategic learning with a pathway approach to characterize association of strategic behavior with variations in the dopamine pathway. Specifically, using gene-set analysis, we systematically examined contribution of different dopamine genes to variation in a multi-strategy competitive game captured by (i) the degree players anticipate and respond to actions of others (belief learning) and (ii) the speed with which such adaptations take place (learning rate). We found that variation in genes that primarily regulate prefrontal dopamine clearance—catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) and two isoforms of monoamine oxidase—modulated degree of belief learning across individuals. In contrast, we did not find significant association for other genes in the dopamine pathway. Furthermore, variation in genes that primarily regulate striatal dopamine function— dopamine transporter and D2 receptors—was significantly associated with the learning rate. We found that this was also the case with COMT, but not for other dopaminergic genes. Together, these findings highlight dissociable roles of frontostriatal systems in strategic learning and support the notion that genetic variation, organized along specific pathways, forms an important source of variation in complex phenotypes such as strategic behavior.
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The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1316259111
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10. 1073/pnas.1316259111/-/DCSupplemental.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10945/49698
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Business & Public Policy (GSBPP)
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Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
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National Institute of Mental Health Grant R01 MH098023
Ministry of Education, Singapore
AXA Research Fund
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Set, Eric, et al. "Dissociable contribution of prefrontal and striatal dopaminergic genes to learning in economic games." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111.26 (2014): 9615-9620.
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
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