Prior research has correlated dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex with performance and acuity in visual working memory. Recent studies, however, have shown that prefrontal cortex activity is not as correlated with visual working memory performance for more complex visual stimuli. Selectively increasing prefrontal dopamine through drug administration (Tolcapone) in conjunction with EEG in a visual working memory performance task allows examination of behavioral performance and brain activity with acute temporal resolution. This paradigm enables inspection of prefrontal activity during critical periods in the task and can give insight into competing theories; does prefrontal dopamine affect precision and storage capacity, or does it affect one's ability to utilize prior stored information?
Thomas, Caleb, Nassar, Matthew, and Mueller, Andrea,
"Prefrontal dopamine in visual working memory"
(2016).
Summer Research Symposium.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/1m6g-4w15
Each year, Brown University showcases the research of its undergraduates at the Summer Research Symposium. More than half of the student-researchers are UTRA recipients, while others receive funding from a variety of Brown-administered and national programs and fellowships and go …
