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Throwing open the doors of perception: The role of dopamine in visual processing
Author(s) -
Woolrych Alexander,
Vautrelle Nicolas,
Reynolds John N. J.,
ParrBrownlie Louise C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.15408
Subject(s) - superior colliculus , neuroscience , dopamine , midbrain , psychology , stimulus (psychology) , sensory system , dopamine receptor , visual system , basal ganglia , context (archaeology) , biology , visual cortex , cognitive psychology , central nervous system , paleontology
Animals form associations between visual cues and behaviours. Although dopamine is known to be critical in many areas of the brain to bind sensory information with appropriate responses, dopamine's role in the visual system is less well understood. Visual signals, which indicate the likely occurrence of a rewarding or aversive stimulus or indicate the context within which such stimuli may arrive, modulate activity in the superior colliculus and alter behaviour. However, such signals primarily originate in cortical and basal ganglia circuits, and evidence of direct signalling from midbrain dopamine neurons to superior colliculus is lacking. Instead, hypothalamic A13 dopamine neurons innervate the superior colliculus, and dopamine receptors are differentially expressed in the superior colliculus, with D1 receptors in superficial layers and D2 receptors in deep layers. However, it remains unknown if A13 dopamine neurons control behaviours through their effect on afferents within the superior colliculus. We propose that A13 dopamine neurons may play a critical role in processing information in the superior colliculus, modifying behavioural responses to visual cues, and propose some testable hypotheses regarding dopamine's effect on visual perception.