Schmitt J A, Jorissen B L, Sobczak S, van Boxtel M P, Hogervorst E, Deutz N E, Riedel W J
Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Brain and Behavior Institute, European Graduate School for Neurosciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
J Psychopharmacol. 2000 Mar;14(1):21-9. doi: 10.1177/026988110001400102.
Animal and human studies have provided evidence for serotonergic modulation of cognitive processes. However, the exact nature of this relationship is not clear. We used the acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) method to investigate the effects of lowered serotonin synthesis on cognitive functions in 17 healthy young volunteers. The study was conducted according to a placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover design. Cognitive performance and mood were assessed at baseline and 5 and 9 h after administration of ATD. A specific impairment of word recognition, without effects on short-term memory, occurred during ATD. No memory deficits were seen if ATD was induced after acquisition of new words. The Stroop Test and dichotic listening task demonstrated a modality independent improvement of focussed attention after ATD. Fluency was also improved after ATD. ATD did not alter speed of information processing, divided attention or planning functions. These results indicate that serotonin is essential in the process of long-term memory consolidation, primarily in the first 30 min after acquisition. Improvement of specific cognitive processes by lowered 5-HT function may be linked to the removal of inhibitory actions of 5-HT in the cortex.
动物和人体研究已经为认知过程的血清素调节作用提供了证据。然而，这种关系的确切性质尚不清楚。我们使用急性色氨酸耗竭（ATD）方法，研究了17名健康年轻志愿者血清素合成降低对认知功能的影响。该研究按照安慰剂对照、双盲、交叉设计进行。在基线以及给予ATD后5小时和9小时评估认知表现和情绪。在ATD期间出现了单词识别的特定损伤，但对短期记忆没有影响。如果在学习新单词后诱导ATD，则未观察到记忆缺陷。Stroop测试和双耳分听任务表明，ATD后注意力集中有模态独立的改善。ATD后流畅性也有所提高。ATD没有改变信息处理速度、分散注意力或计划功能。这些结果表明，血清素在长期记忆巩固过程中至关重要，主要是在学习后的前30分钟。5-羟色胺功能降低对特定认知过程的改善可能与消除5-羟色胺在皮层的抑制作用有关。
