# Dopaminergic Mechanisms Underlying Human Social Behavior: A Multimodal Approach

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2022 · $678,118

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
A significant challenge for understanding social dysfunctions observed in mental illness is to link high-level
theories of social behavior and cognition with the computations performed by brain circuits. Specifically, how
does the brain translate social perception into social valuation, and how does such valuation influence social
actions? We propose to leverage recent developments in economic theory and cognitive neuroscience to
bridge this divide using a computational, model-based approach. In this proposal, we hypothesize that social
behavior is underpinned by brain mechanisms that are influenced by the neurotransmitter dopamine, and that
these mechanisms can be captured by computational models that integrate internal representations of social
experience, and parameters relevant to dopamine tone, to inform social actions. Social valuation thus
critically, and quantitatively, depends upon both internal social representations and the neurochemistry of the
actor within the social environment. To assess this hypothesis, we pursue two approaches to evaluate
dopamine tone: one in which we use an FDA-approved medication, tolcapone, to influence dopamine
metabolism, and one in which we perform PET imaging to measure dopamine release and baseline dopamine
receptor D2/D3 occupancy. We then apply a model of social valuation to subjects' behavior, and search for
neural correlates of this valuation using functional MRI (fMRI). To this end, we bring together a group
of experts in (1) the neuroeconomics and modeling of social and non-social decision-making, (2) cognitive
neuroscience, (3) the pharmacology of frontostriatal circuits, and (4) neuroimaging. We thus seek to broaden
our understanding of the computations and circuits underlying social behavior. Moreover, we believe that a
model-based understanding of these behaviors and neural circuits may guide more robust predictions of the
effects of pharmacological manipulations on social valuation, and provide quantitative tools to assess the
effects of such manipulations in patient populations, with possible therapeutic implications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10368924
- **Project number:** 5R01MH112775-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ming Hsu
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $678,118
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-05 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10368924

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10368924, Dopaminergic Mechanisms Underlying Human Social Behavior: A Multimodal Approach (5R01MH112775-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10368924. Licensed CC0.

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