ArticleJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)2021
Dopaminergic and noradrenergic modulation of stress-induced alterations in brain activation associated with goal-directed behaviour.
Article in Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of amphetamines on blood pressure.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of risk assessment nursing combined with psychological care on SAS scores, SDS scores, and patient compliance in patients in the surgical intensive care unit: a single-center, randomized controlled trial.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2026Trial
- Influence of the HPA Axis on Anxiety-Related Processes: An RDoC Overview Considering Their Neural Correlates.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- No evidence for increased habitual or decreased goal-directed action control after acute stress.PloS one · 2025Article
- Validity of mental and physical stress models.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Review
- Methylphenidate as a treatment option for substance use disorder: a transdiagnostic perspective.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAcute stress is thought to reduce goal-directed behaviour, an effect purportedly associated with stress-induced release of catecholamines. In contrast, experimentally increased systemic catecholamine levels have been shown to increase goal-directed behaviour. Whether experimentally increased catecholamine function can modulate stress-induced reductions in goal-directed behaviour and its neural substrates, is currently unknown.
aimTo assess whether and how experimentally induced increases in dopamine and noradrenaline contribute to the acute stress effects on goal-directed behaviour and associated brain activation.
methodsOne hundred participants underwent a stress induction protocol (Maastricht acute stress test; MAST) or a control procedure and received methylphenidate (MPH) (40 mg, oral) or placebo according to a 2 × 2 between-subjects design. In a well-established instrumental learning paradigm, participants learnt stimulus-response-outcome associations, after which rewards were selectively devalued. Participants' brain activation and associated goal-directed behaviour were assessed in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner at peak cortisol/MPH concentrations.
resultsThe MAST and MPH increased physiological measures of stress (salivary cortisol and blood pressure), but only MAST increased subjective measures of stress. MPH modulated stress effects on activation of brain areas associated with goal-directed behaviour, including insula, putamen, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, frontal pole and orbitofrontal cortex. However, MPH did not modulate the tendency of stress to induce a reduction in goal-directed behaviour.
conclusionOur neuroimaging data suggest that MPH-induced increases in dopamine and noradrenaline reverse stress-induced changes in key brain regions associated with goal-directed behaviour, while behavioural effects were absent. These effects may be relevant for preventing stress-induced maladaptive behaviour like in addiction or binge eating disorder.
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