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Abstract:
The acquisition of complex rule-based information, such as language learning, is one of the most intriguing abilities in humans. This so-called procedural learning is hypothesized to be mediated by basal ganglia structures, and particularly the parts of the frontal cortex to which they project. Dopamine levels in the brain affect this projection, and moreover have been demonstrated to mediate the reward signal that is likely to drive trial-by-trial feedback learning. We tested the effect of increasing dopamine levels in the brain on the acquisition of a complex artificial grammar. 40 Participants took part in an artificial grammar learning task in which they were forced to learn the grammar through the delivered feedback. One hour prior to the task, half of the participants were given Levodopa, a precursor of dopamine, and the other half a placebo substance. Our findings show a significant task improvement for the Levodopa group compared to the Placebo group. These findings are in line with previous literature that suggests an important role for the basal ganglia in feedback-based procedural learning. Future directions should focus on enhancing cognitive functions through dopaminergic modulation.
