Catecholamine precursor modulation of human exploration: Evidence from a large gender-balanced sample
- 1Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- 2Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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.
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BibTeX
@article{brands2026catecholamine,
title = {{Catecholamine precursor modulation of human exploration: Evidence from a large gender-balanced sample}},
author = {Angela Mariele Brands and Kilian Knauth and David Mathar and Tim Roedder and Kerstin Lisner and Jan Peters},
journal = {PLOS Computational Biology},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014356},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014356},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Catecholamine precursor modulation of human exploration: Evidence from a large gender-balanced sample
AU - Angela Mariele Brands
AU - Kilian Knauth
AU - David Mathar
AU - Tim Roedder
AU - Kerstin Lisner
AU - Jan Peters
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/11
JO - PLOS Computational Biology
DO - 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014356
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014356
AB - 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.
SN - 1553-734X
SN - 1553-7358
ER -