Trial reportPloS one2020
Catecholaminergic modulation of the cost of cognitive control in healthy older adults.
Trial report in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Baseline-dependent effect of dopamine's precursor L-tyrosine on working memory gating but not updating.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2020Trial
- Shared and distinct features of common effort-based decision-making paradigms and their relation to brain structure and neuropsychiatric conditions: An integrated narrative review.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Review
- Widespread effects of catecholamines on growth of human gut bacteria.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- Shielding working memory from distraction is more effortful than flexible updating.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A dopaminergic basis of behavioral control.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Wagers for work: Decomposing the costs of cognitive effort.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Increased cognitive effort costs in healthy aging and preclinical Alzheimer's disease.Psychology and aging · 2023Article
- Cognitive Effort-Based Decision-Making Across Experimental and Daily Life Indices in Younger and Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2023Article
- Dietary Tyrosine Intake (FFQ) Is Associated with Locus Coeruleus, Attention and Grey Matter Maintenance: An MRI Structural Study on 398 Healthy Individuals of the Berlin Aging Study-II.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2023Article
- A mosaic of cost-benefit control over cortico-striatal circuitry.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2021Review
- Human complex exploration strategies are enriched by noradrenaline-modulated heuristics.eLife · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Catecholamines have long been associated with cognitive control and value-based decision-making. More recently, we have shown that catecholamines also modulate value-based decision-making about whether or not to engage in cognitive control. Yet it is unclear whether catecholamines influence these decisions by altering the subjective value of control. Thus, we tested whether tyrosine, a catecholamine precursor altered the subjective value of performing a demanding working memory task among healthy older adults (60-75 years). Contrary to our prediction, tyrosine administration did not significantly increase the subjective value of conducting an N-back task for reward, as a main effect. Instead, in line with our previous study, exploratory analyses indicated that drug effects varied as a function of participants' trait impulsivity scores. Specifically, tyrosine increased the subjective value of conducting an N-back task in low impulsive participants, while reducing its value in more impulsive participants. One implication of these findings is that the over-the-counter tyrosine supplements may be accompanied by an undermining effect on the motivation to perform demanding cognitive tasks, at least in certain older adults. Taken together, these findings indicate that catecholamines can alter cognitive control by modulating motivation (rather than just the ability) to exert cognitive control.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.