Probabilistic reversal learning under acute tryptophan depletion in healthy humans: a conventional analysis. (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kanen, Jonathan W; Arntz, Frederique E; Yellowlees, Robyn; Cardinal, Rudolf N; Price, Annabel; Christmas, David M; Sahakian, Barbara J; Apergis-Schoute, Annemieke M; Robbins, Trevor W
• Is Part Of: Journal of psychopharmacology. Volume 34:Number 5(2020)
• Page Start: 580
• Page End: 583
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: Serotonin -- tryptophan depletion -- probabilistic reversal learning; Psychopharmacology -- Periodicals; 615.78
• DOI: 10.1177/0269881120907991
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-8811

Abstract

The involvement of serotonin in responses to negative feedback is well established. Acute serotonin reuptake inhibition has enhanced sensitivity to negative feedback (SNF), modelled by behaviour in probabilistic reversal learning (PRL) paradigms. Whilst experiments employing acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) in humans, to reduce serotonin synthesis, have shown no clear effect on SNF, sample sizes have been small. We studied a large sample of healthy volunteers, male and female, and found ATD had no effect on core behavioural measures in PRL. These results indicate that ATD effects can differ from other manipulations of serotonin expected to have a parallel or opposing action.