Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany; Center of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Germany.
Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
Ageing Res Rev. 2024 Apr;96:102280. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2024.102280. Epub 2024 Mar 20.
The retina has been considered a "window to the brain" and shares similar innervation by the dopaminergic system with the cortex in terms of an unequal distribution of D1 and D2 receptors. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview that Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), a non-invasive imaging technique, which provides an "in vivo" representation of the retina, shows promise to be used as a surrogate marker of dopaminergic neuromodulation in cognition. Overall, most evidence supports reduced retinal thickness in individuals with dopaminergic dysregulation (e.g., patients with Parkinson's Disease, non-demented older adults) and with poor cognitive functioning. By using the theoretical framework of metacontrol, we derive hypotheses that retinal thinning associated to decreased dopamine (DA) levels affecting D1 families, might lead to a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) affecting cognitive persistence (depending on D1-modulated DA activity) but not cognitive flexibility (depending on D2-modulated DA activity). We argue that the use of OCT parameters might not only be an insightful for cognitive neuroscience research, but also a potentially effective tool for individualized medicine with a focus on cognition. As our society progressively ages in the forthcoming years and decades, the preservation of cognitive abilities and promoting healthy aging will hold of crucial significance. OCT has the potential to function as a swift, non-invasive, and economical method for promptly recognizing individuals with a heightened vulnerability to cognitive deterioration throughout all stages of life.
视网膜一直被认为是“大脑之窗”，其与大脑皮层的多巴胺能系统具有相似的神经支配，在 D1 和 D2 受体的分布上存在不均衡性。在这里，我们提供了一个全面的概述，即光学相干断层扫描（OCT），一种非侵入性的成像技术，可以提供视网膜的“活体”表现，有望成为多巴胺能神经调节认知的替代标志物。总的来说，大多数证据支持多巴胺能调节异常（例如帕金森病患者、认知正常的老年患者）和认知功能差的个体的视网膜厚度减少。通过使用元控制的理论框架，我们得出假设，与降低的多巴胺（DA）水平相关的视网膜变薄会影响 D1 家族，可能导致影响认知持久性（取决于 D1 调节的 DA 活性）但不影响认知灵活性（取决于 D2 调节的 DA 活性）的信噪比（SNR）降低。我们认为，OCT 参数的使用不仅可以为认知神经科学研究提供有价值的见解，而且还可能成为关注认知的个体化医学的一种潜在有效工具。随着我们的社会在未来几年和几十年中逐渐老龄化，保持认知能力和促进健康老龄化将具有至关重要的意义。OCT 有可能成为一种快速、非侵入性和经济的方法，用于在生命的各个阶段及时识别认知恶化风险较高的个体。
