CCN talk: October 10, 2025
Robb Rutledge
Assistant Professor, Psychology and Psychiatry
Yale University
This talk is sponsored by the Breaking the Neural Code Cluster at Dartmouth.
The role of dopamine in decision making
Abstract: The neuromodulator dopamine is believed to play multiple roles in decision making, but the neurocomputational basis of dopamine's influence in human decision making remains unclear. Through a combination of fMRI, pharmacology, and smartphone-based experiments in the general population and in Parkinson's disease, we find evidence that dopamine is associated with increased risk taking in a manner that does not depend on value. Surprising sounds are associated with dopamine release, and we find that surprising sounds increase risk taking in a manner that does not depend on value. Using smartphone-based tasks (https://happinessquest.app), we remotely tested individuals with Parkinson's disease on and off dopamine medication, finding reduced risk taking and again finding support for a role for dopamine in decision making that lies outside of standard economic models of decision making under uncertainty. At the same time, we find evidence that dopamine plays a role in the emotions that we feel during decision-making tasks.