Trutti Anne C, Sjoerds Zsuzsika, Boag Russell J, Walstra Solenn L Y, Miletić Steven, Isherwood Scott J S, Bazin Pierre-Louis, Hommel Bernhard, Habli Sarah, Tse Desmond H Y, Håberg Asta K, Forstmann Birte U
Integrative Model-Based Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.
Elife. 2025 Jun 25;13:RP97874. doi: 10.7554/eLife.97874.
A growing body of research suggests that dopamine is involved in working memory updating and that the striatum takes up a critical role in the subprocess of working memory gating . In this study, we investigated subcortical - in particular, possible dopaminergic - involvement in working memory updating subprocesses using the reference-back task and ultrahigh field 7 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Using a scanning protocol optimized for BOLD sensitivity in the subcortex, we found no evidence of subcortical activation during working memory gate opening, predominantly activations in frontoparietal network regions, which challenges the idea of a striatal gating mechanism. However, during gate closing, subcortical activation was observed. Furthermore, a ready-to-update mode demonstrated large-spread subcortical activation, including basal ganglia nuclei, suggesting that the basal ganglia are engaged in general updating processes rather than specifically controlling the working memory gate. Moreover, substituting new information into working memory elicited activation in dopamine-producing midbrain regions along with the striatum, thalamus, and prefrontal cortex, indicating engagement of the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loop possibly driven by (potential) dopaminergic activity. These findings expand our understanding of subcortical regions involved in working memory updating, shifting the focus from gate opening to substitution as a midbrain-driven updating process.
越来越多的研究表明，多巴胺参与工作记忆更新，且纹状体在工作记忆门控的子过程中发挥关键作用。在本研究中，我们使用参照回溯任务和超高场7特斯拉功能磁共振成像（fMRI），调查了皮层下——特别是可能的多巴胺能——对工作记忆更新子过程的参与情况。使用针对皮层下BOLD敏感性优化的扫描协议，我们发现在工作记忆门打开期间没有皮层下激活的证据，主要激活发生在额顶网络区域，这对纹状体门控机制的观点提出了挑战。然而，在门关闭期间，观察到了皮层下激活。此外，一种准备更新模式显示出广泛的皮层下激活，包括基底神经节核团，这表明基底神经节参与一般的更新过程，而不是专门控制工作记忆门。此外，将新信息代入工作记忆会引发产生多巴胺的中脑区域以及纹状体、丘脑和前额叶皮层的激活，表明基底神经节-丘脑-皮层环路可能由（潜在的）多巴胺能活动驱动。这些发现扩展了我们对参与工作记忆更新的皮层下区域的理解，将焦点从门打开转移到作为中脑驱动更新过程的信息代入。
