{
  "abstract": "The catecholamine precursor Tyrosine has been linked to improved cognitive performance, but investigations into decision-making and reinforcement learning processes known to be under catecholamine control are sparse. We examined the impact of a single dose of Tyrosine (2g) on reinforcement learning and exploration in a large (n = 63) gender-balanced sample in a within-subjects preregistered study. Reinforcement learning performance was significantly improved under Tyrosine. Based on previous work, we preregistered the hypotheses that Tyrosine would reduce directed exploration, response times, and physiological arousal. However, neither response times nor physiological arousal revealed the predicted reductions. Computational modelling using an established pre-registered reinforcement learning model revealed that the performance improvement under Tyrosine was due to an increase value-driven exploitation, without affecting directed exploration. Non-preregistered modelling analyses then revealed that accounting for higher-order perseveration substantially improved model fit, and substantiated the observation of increased value-driven exploitation under Tyrosine. Furthermore, it revealed reliable reductions in directed exploration and value-independent perseveration under Tyrosine. Tyrosine thus improved reinforcement learning performance by stabilizing choice patterns in the service of optimizing reward accumulation, modulating several computational mechanisms thought to be under catecholamine control.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Angela Mariele Brands",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0422-8160"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kilian Knauth"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "David Mathar",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3411-7867"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Tim Roedder"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kerstin Lisner"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jan Peters",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0195-5357"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9swxvx2abmwr5.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014356",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13719043/",
  "id": "9swxvx2abmwr5",
  "issns": [
    "1553-734X",
    "1553-7358"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014356",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Amines"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Amino Acids"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Aromatic Amino Acids"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Behavior"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Biochemistry"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Biogenic Amines"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Biology and Life Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Catecholamines"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Chemical Compounds"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Cognition"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Cognitive Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Cognitive Psychology"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Cognitive Science"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Decision Making"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Habits"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Hormones"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Hydroxyl Amino Acids"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Learning"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Learning and Memory"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Neurochemistry"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Neurotransmitters"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Organic Chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Organic Compounds"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Physical Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Proteins"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Psychology"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Reaction Time"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Research Article"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Research and Analysis Methods"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Simulation and Modeling"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Social Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Tyrosine"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2804|Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4408553736",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014356&type=printable",
  "pmcid": "PMC13719043",
  "pmid": "42275440",
  "published": "2026-06-11",
  "publisher": "PLOS",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9swxvx2abmwr5.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T12:22:57Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13719043",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014356"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "heading:Biochemistry",
      "subfield": "general"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "heading:Cognitive Neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    },
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "heading:Organic Chemistry",
      "subfield": "organic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Catecholamine precursor modulation of human exploration: Evidence from a large gender-balanced sample",
  "title_text": "Catecholamine precursor modulation of human exploration: Evidence from a large gender-balanced sample",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-02T12:22:57Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9swxvx2abmwr5",
  "venue": "PLOS Computational Biology",
  "versions": []
}