Serotonergic modulation of response inhibition and re-engagement? Results of a study in healthy human volunteers

✍ Scribed by Barbara Drueke; Maren Boecker; Sonja Schlaegel; Olaf Moeller; Christoph Hiemke; Gerhard Gründer; Siegfried Gauggel

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 131 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6222
• DOI: 10.1002/hup.1141

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Objective

Cognitive functions dependent on the prefrontal cortex, such as the ability to suppress behavior (response inhibition) and initiate a new one (response re‐engagement) is important in the activities of daily life. Central serotonin (5‐HT) function is thought to be a critical component of these cognitive functions. In recent studies, 5‐HT failed to affect stop‐signal reaction time (SSRT), a fundamental process in behavioral inhibition. We were interested if response inhibition and re‐engagement are influenced through central 5‐HT activity as mediated via the 5‐HT transporter.

Methods

Here, using a stop‐change task, we investigated the effects of acute and repeated treatment with 10 mg escitalopram, a selective 5‐HT reuptake inhibitor, in 36 healthy human volunteers on response inhibition and re‐engagement in a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study with cross‐over design.

Results

Results do not show an influence of escitalopram on response inhibition or response re‐engagement as we did not find differences in SSRT or change reaction time (CRT).

Conclusions

These findings support the results of previous studies suggesting that 5‐HT is not critical in inhibition of already initiated responses and response re‐engagement. We hypothesize that results are due to different forms of behavioral inhibition and 5‐HT may critical to other forms. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.