# Read the article [here][1]. #
**AUTHORS:** Lieke Hofmans, Ruben van den Bosch, Jessica I. Määttä, Robbert-Jan Verkes, Esther Aarts, Roshan Cools
Replication attempt of an earlier study.
Original study: Esther Aarts, Deanna L. Wallace, Linh C. Dang, William Jagust, Roshan Cools, and Mark D'Esposito (2014). Dopamine and the cognitive downside of a promised bonus. Psychol Sci 25: 1003-1009
**ABSTRACT**
Reward motivation is known to enhance cognitive control. However, detrimental effects have also been observed, which have been attributed to overdosing of already high baseline dopamine levels by further dopamine increases elicited by reward cues. Aarts et al. (2014) indeed demonstrated, in 14 individuals, that reward effects depended on striatal dopamine synthesis capacity, measured with [18F]FMT-PET: promised reward improved Stroop control in low-dopamine individuals, while impairing it in high-dopamine individuals. Here, we aimed to assess this same effect in 44 new participants, who had previously undergone an [18F]DOPA-PET scan to quantify dopamine synthesis capacity. This sample performed the exact same rewarded Stroop paradigm as in the prior study. However, we did not find any correlation between reward effects on cognitive control and striatal dopamine synthesis capacity. Critical differences between the radiotracers [18F]DOPA and [18F]FMT are discussed, as the discrepancy between the current and our previous findings might reflect the use of the potentially less sensitive [18F]DOPA radiotracer in the current study.
**FILE DIRECTORY**
- Pre-Registration
- Project proposal Donders Institute (short slideshow that summarizes project)
**DATA AVAILABILITY**
Task code, data and analysis scripts will be made publicly available after manuscript acceptance at the following address: https://doi.org/10.34973/s0fm-3e10. Prior to accessing and downloading the shared data, users must create an account. It is possible to use an institutional account or a social ID from Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Microsoft. After authentication, users must accept the Data Use Agreement (DUA), after which they are automatically authorized to download the shared data. The DUA specifies whether there are any restrictions on how the data may be used. The Radboud University and the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour will keep these shared data available for at least 10 years.
[1]: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72329-4
