Visual attention modulation by the dopaminergic system in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction: Visual attention is a cognitive function that impairment in it can lead to multiple psychological and cognitive disorders such as ADHD, ADD, neglect, Alzheimer and schizophrenia.Dopamine, as a main neuromodulator of attention produced in midbrain neurons that project to the prefrontal cortex (PFC).This research aims to examine the role of dopamine in membrane potential regulation in the prefrontal region in modulating visual attention.Methods: Eight-week-old mice of both sexes were anesthetized with urethane and then underwent cranial surgery in the mPFC area.The effects of ventral tegmental area (VTA) stimulation, PFC inhibition with muscimol, and local injection of flupentixol on visual attention were investigated using the in vivo whole-cell Patch clamp technique in both anesthetized and awake states.To demonstrate whether dopaminergic receptors in the mPFC area are involved in the observed changes under the current condition, the non-selective antagonist of dopamine receptors (flupentixol) was used.Results: Our findings indicate that PFC inhibition significantly disrupts visual attention, as evidenced by decreased response accuracy in attention tasks.Conversely, VTA stimulation resulted in reduced neuronal firing rates, further impairing attention.Flupentixol administration resulted in reduced response accuracy and decreased neuronal spike rate, highlighting the importance of dopamine receptor activity in attention modulation Conclusion: These results underscore the complex role of dopamine as a neuromodulator in visual attention processes and highlight the importance of the PFC in attention regulation.Understanding the interplay between the dopaminergic system and the PFC may provide insights into the pathophysiology of attention-related disorders. www.phypha.ir/ppj Experimental Research ArticlePhysiology and Pharmacology 29 (2025) [335][336][337][338][339][340][341][342][343][344][345][346][347][348][349] Attention is a means by which relevant behavioral information is selected while the rest is ignored (Clark et al., 2015).Visual attention is one of the most important cognitive functions, especially in primates and animals where vision is the dominant sense (Corbetta et Physiology and Pharmacology 29 (2025) 335-349 | 336 Visual attention modulation by the dopaminergic system Visual attention modulation by the dopaminergic system
Source: Economy of Tajikistan
Authors: Hossein ahmadzadeh vosta kolaei, Amir-Hossein Darvish, Mir-Shahram Safari
Institution: Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7101391515