Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Angela Radulescu
Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States; Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
Deborah Raymond
Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, United States
Naomi Lubarr
Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, United States
Susan B Bressman
Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, United States
Pietro Mazzoni
The Neurological Institute, Columbia University, New York, United States
Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States; Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
It has been difficult to link synaptic modification to overt behavioral changes. Rodent models of DYT1 dystonia, a motor disorder caused by a single gene mutation, demonstrate increased long-term potentiation and decreased long-term depression in corticostriatal synapses. Computationally, such asymmetric learning predicts risk taking in probabilistic tasks. Here we demonstrate abnormal risk taking in DYT1 dystonia patients, which is correlated with disease severity, thereby supporting striatal plasticity in shaping choice behavior in humans.
