Serotonergic Modulation of Cognition, Emotion and Brain Activation in Healthy Volunteers

Summary

The aim of this project is: * To apply a pharmacological tool of selective serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT system) reuptake inhibition in healthy humans. Specifically: * To investigate how sub-chronic administration of 20 mg of escitalopram affects cognitive performance ('cold' cognition) and social-emotional functioning ('hot' cognition) compared with placebo; and * To investigate how sub-chronic administration of 20 mg of escitalopram affects functional brain activation during a paradigm of reinforcement learning following drug administration compared with placebo, and how activation relates to cognitive performance and social-emotional functioning.

Timeline

Start

2020-04-28

Primary completion

2022-10-30

Completion

2022-10-30

Publications

• Background Homberg JR. Serotonin and decision making processes. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2012 Jan;36(1):218-36. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.06.001. Epub 2011 Jun 12.
• Background Meneses A. Are 5-HT(1B/1D) and 5-HT(2A/2B/2C) receptors involved in learning and memory processes? IDrugs. 1999 Aug;2(8):796-801.
• Background Worbe Y, Savulich G, Voon V, Fernandez-Egea E, Robbins TW. Serotonin depletion induces 'waiting impulsivity' on the human four-choice serial reaction time task: cross-species translational significance. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2014 May;39(6):1519-26. doi: 10.1038/npp.2013.351. Epub 2014 Jan 2.
• Background Worbe Y, Savulich G, de Wit S, Fernandez-Egea E, Robbins TW. Tryptophan Depletion Promotes Habitual over Goal-Directed Control of Appetitive Responding in Humans. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2015 Feb 5;18(10):pyv013. doi: 10.1093/ijnp/pyv013.
• Background Worbe Y, Palminteri S, Savulich G, Daw ND, Fernandez-Egea E, Robbins TW, Voon V. Valence-dependent influence of serotonin depletion on model-based choice strategy. Mol Psychiatry. 2016 May;21(5):624-9. doi: 10.1038/mp.2015.46. Epub 2015 Apr 14.
• Background Park SB, Coull JT, McShane RH, Young AH, Sahakian BJ, Robbins TW, Cowen PJ. Tryptophan depletion in normal volunteers produces selective impairments in learning and memory. Neuropharmacology. 1994 Mar-Apr;33(3-4):575-88. doi: 10.1016/0028-3908(94)90089-2.
• Background Sahakian BJ, Morris RG, Evenden JL, Heald A, Levy R, Philpot M, Robbins TW. A comparative study of visuospatial memory and learning in Alzheimer-type dementia and Parkinson's disease. Brain. 1988 Jun;111 ( Pt 3):695-718. doi: 10.1093/brain/111.3.695.
• Background Bland AR, Roiser JP, Mehta MA, Schei T, Boland H, Campbell-Meiklejohn DK, Emsley RA, Munafo MR, Penton-Voak IS, Seara-Cardoso A, Viding E, Voon V, Sahakian BJ, Robbins TW, Elliott R. EMOTICOM: A Neuropsychological Test Battery to Evaluate Emotion, Motivation, Impulsivity, and Social Cognition. Front Behav Neurosci. 2016 Feb 24;10:25. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00025. eCollection 2016.
• Armand S, Langley C, Johansen A, Ozenne B, Overgaard-Hansen O, Larsen K, Jensen PS, Knudsen GM, Sahakian BJ, Stenbaek DS, Fisher PM. Functional brain responses to emotional faces after three to five weeks of intake of escitalopram in healthy individuals: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised study. Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 7;14(1):3149. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-51448-2.
• Langley C, Armand S, Luo Q, Savulich G, Segerberg T, Sondergaard A, Pedersen EB, Svart N, Overgaard-Hansen O, Johansen A, Borgsted C, Cardinal RN, Robbins TW, Stenbaek DS, Knudsen GM, Sahakian BJ. Chronic escitalopram in healthy volunteers has specific effects on reinforcement sensitivity: a double-blind, placebo-controlled semi-randomised study. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2023 Mar;48(4):664-670. doi: 10.1038/s41386-022-01523-x. Epub 2023 Jan 23.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.