A PET study of dopaminergic modification of conscious experiences

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25861039
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: National Institute of Radiological Sciences
• Principal Investigator: Takahata Keisuke 国立研究開発法人放射線医学総合研究所, 分子イメージング研究センター, 研究員 (20645311)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: ドーパミン / 主観的体験

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To elucidate dopaminergic modification of conscious experiences, we conducted three experiences. First, using the modified intentional binding task, we revealed healthy subjects and depressive patients showed different patterns in emotional modulation of sense of agency. Our results showed that depressive patients showed diminished tendency of self-serving bias for negative outcomes compared healthy subjects. Second, we designed the behavioral task to evaluate subject’s feeling of empathy for the opponent who showed emotional reaction for the punishment. We found that empathy for the opponent is diminished when punishment was given by another subject. We are conducting fMRI study using this behavioral task. Third, we investigated association among dopamine D2 receptor density measured by [11C]FLB457 PET and capacity for divergent thinking. We revealed D2 receptor density in the right prefrontal cortex showed a negative correlation with divergent thinking capacity.

Free Research Field

精神医学