Administration of L-DOPA increased optimism bias by impairing the ability to update beliefs in response to undesirable information about the future.
Does L-DOPA increase optimism bias in humans?
L-DOPA enhances optimism bias by impairing belief updating in response to undesirable future information, providing evidence that dopamine impacts belief formation.
When predicting financial profits 1Calderon T.G. Predictive properties of analysts' forecasts of corporate earnings.Mid-Atlantic J. Bus. 1993; 29: 41-58Google Scholar, relationship outcomes 2Baker L.A. Emery R.E. When every relationship is above average: perceptions and expectations of divorce at the time of marriage.Law Hum. Behav. 1993; 17: 439-450Crossref Scopus (149) Google Scholar, longevity 3Puri M. Robinson D.T. Optimism and economic choice.J. Financ. Econ. 2007; 86: 71-99Crossref Scopus (359) Google Scholar, or professional success 4Lovallo D. Kahneman D. Delusions of success. How optimism undermines executives' decisions.Harv. Bus. Rev. 2003; 81 (117): 56-63PubMed Google Scholar, people habitually underestimate the likelihood of future negative events (for review see 5Sharot T. The Optimism Bias. Pantheon Books, New York2011Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (532) Google Scholar). This well-known bias, termed unrealistic optimism 6Weinstein N.D. Unrealistic optimism about future life events.J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 1980; 39: 806-820Crossref Scopus (3065) Google Scholar, is observed across age 7Isaacowitz D.M. Correlates of well-being in adulthood and old age: a tale of two optimisms.J. Res. Pers. 2005; 39: 224-244Crossref Scopus (52) Google Scholar, culture 8Chang E.C. Optimism and Pessimism: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice.First Edition. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC2000Google Scholar, and species 9Harding E.J. Paul E.S. Mendl M. Animal behaviour: cognitive bias and affective state.Nature. 2004; 427: 312Crossref PubMed Scopus (514) Google Scholar and has a significant societal impact on domains ranging from financial markets to health and well being. However, it is unknown how neuromodulatory systems impact on the generation of optimistically biased beliefs. This question assumes great importance in light of evidence that common neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression, are characterized by pessimism 10American Psychiatric AssociationDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders.Fourth Edition. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC1994Google Scholar, 11Strunk D.R. Lopez H. DeRubeis R.J. Depressive symptoms are associated with unrealistic negative predictions of future life events.Behav. Res. Ther. 2006; 44: 861-882Crossref PubMed Scopus (171) Google Scholar. Here, we show that administration of a drug that enhances dopaminergic function (dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine; L-DOPA) increases an optimism bias. This effect is due to L-DOPA impairing the ability to update belief in response to undesirable information about the future. These findings provide the first evidence that the neuromodulator dopamine impacts on belief formation by reducing negative expectations regarding the future.
Sharot et al. (Tue,) conducted a other in Optimism bias. dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (L-DOPA) was evaluated on Optimism bias and belief updating. Administration of L-DOPA increased optimism bias by impairing the ability to update beliefs in response to undesirable information about the future.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: