Increase of extracellular dopamine in primate prefrontal cortex during a working memory task

Increase of extracellular dopamine in primate prefrontal cortex during a working memory task. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 2795-2798, 1997. The dopamine innervation of the prefrontal cortex is involved importantly in cognitive processes, such as tested in working memory tasks. However, there have been no studies directly investigating prefrontal dopamine levels in relation to cognitive processes. We measured frontal extracellular dopamine concentration using in vivo microdialysis in monkeys performing in a delayed alternation task as a typical working memory paradigm and in a sensory-guided control task. We observed a significant increase in dopamine level in the delayed alternation task as compared both with the sensory-guided control task and the basal resting level. The increase was seen in the dorsolateral prefrontal but not in the arcuate or orbitofrontal areas. The increase appeared to reflect the working memory component of the task and was observed mainly in the lip areas of principal sulcus. Although there was no significant difference in dopamine level between delayed alternation and sensory-guided control tasks in the premotor area, significant increases in dopamine concentration were observed during both tasks as compared with the basal resting level, indicating the importance of premotor dopamine for the motor response itself.