Journal
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
Volume 71, Issue -, Pages 58-82Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.020
Keywords
Eye blink rate; Dopamine; Cognition; Individual differences
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Funding
- Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) [452-12-001]
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An extensive body of research suggests the spontaneous eye blink rate (EBR) is a non-invasive indirect marker of central dopamine (DA) function, with higher EBR predicting higher DA function. In the present review we provide a comprehensive overview of this literature. We broadly divide the available research in studies that aim to disentangle the dopaminergic underpinnings of EBR, investigate its utility in diagnosis of DA-related disorders and responsivity to drug treatment, and, lastly, investigate EBR as predictor of individual differences in DA-related cognitive performance. We conclude (i) EBR can reflect both DA receptor subtype D1 and D2 activity, although baseline EBR might be most strongly related to the latter, (ii) EBR can predict hypo- and hyperdopaminergic activity as well as normalization of this activity following treatment, and (iii) EBR can reliably predict individual differences in performance on many cognitive tasks, in particular those related to reward-driven behavior and cognitive flexibility. In sum, this review establishes EBR as a useful predictor of DA in a wide variety of contexts. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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