Dopaminergic modulation of the updating of stimulus–response episodes in Parkinson's disease

Increasing evidence suggests that the control of retrieval of episodic feature bindings is modulated by the striatal dopaminergic pathway. The present study investigated whether this may reflect a contribution from the ventral or the dorsal part of the striatum. Along the lines of the overdose hypothesis in Parkinson's disease (PD), functions known to rely on the dorsal striatum are enhanced with dopaminergic medication, while operations relying on the ventral circuitry are impaired. We found that partial mismatches between present and previous stimulus–response relations are, compared to control participants, abnormally low OFF DA medication and normalized ON DA medication. The results suggest that the dorsal striatum, but not (or not so much) the ventral striatum, is driving the flexible control of retrieval of stimulus–response episodes.

► Updating of stimulus–response bindings relies on dopamine.
► PD patients update more efficiently OFF medication than ON medication.
► Dorsal striatum drives the updating of stimulus–response bindings.