Serotonin and Dopamine Linked to Decision-Making: Study

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers monitored subsecond changes in levels of the neurotransmitters in the human brain, unlocking new insight into their function.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 5 min read

disease & medicine, neuroscience, microelectrode, techniques, dopamine, serotonin, neuromodulator, neurotransmitter, neuropsychiatric disorders

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ABOVE: To capture simultaneous and continuous measurements of the neuromodulators dopamine and serotonin, the study authors designed a microelectrode capable of taking 10 measurements per second.
VIRGINIA TECH

Long associated with reward and pleasure, dopamine and serotonin may also be involved in general cognition, shaping how people perceive the world and act on those perceptions, a new study finds.

For the first time, researchers have continuously and simultaneously monitored the two neuromodulators in the human brain. The results, published October 12 in Neuron, offer new opportunities to test hypotheses previously studied mostly in animal models.

“This study isn’t just measuring dopamine and serotonin; it’s building upon the deep foundation looking at neural mechanisms for perceptual decisions in animals and humans” and linking the findings of these studies together, Tim Hanks, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study, tells The Scientist. “There’s a growing ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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