The dopaminergic system supports flexible and rewarding dyadic motor interactive behaviour in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Studies indicate that the dopaminergic system (DAS) supports individual flexible behaviour. While flexibility is quintessential to effective dyadic motor interactions, whether DAS mediates adaptations of one’s own motor behaviour to that of a partner is not known. Here, we asked patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) to synchronize their grasping movements with those of a virtual partner in conditions that did (Interactive) or did not (Cued) require to predict and adapt to its actions. PD performed the task during daily antiparkinsonian treatment (‘On’ condition) or after drug-withdrawal (‘Off’ condition). A group of healthy individuals also served as control group. In the Interactive condition, PDs performed better and found the interaction more enjoyable when in ‘On’ than in ‘Off’ condition. Crucially, PD performance in the ‘On’ condition did not differ from that of healthy controls. This pattern of results hints at the key role of the DAS in supporting the flexible adaptation of one’s own actions to the partner’s during motor interactions.