Abstract
Rationale: The serotonin (5-HT) system has been reported to be involved in decision-making. A key component of this neurotransmitter system is the 5-HT1A receptor, and research is beginning to show how this receptor can influence decision-making. However, this relationship has rarely been studied in humans. Objectives: This study assessed whether individual variability in 5-HT1A availability correlates with decision-making in healthy volunteers. Methods: We measured regional availability of the 5-HT 1A receptor in the hippocampal complex and striatum using positron emission tomography and correlated this with performance on two decision-making tasks measuring sensitivity to probability, rewards and punishments and temporal discounting, respectively. Results: No relationship between decision-making behaviour and 5-HT1A availability in the striatum was found. However, a positive correlation was detected between participants' 5-HT1A availability in the hippocampal complex and their sensitivity to the probability of winning. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between the degree to which participants discounted future rewards and 5-HT1A availability in the hippocampal complex. Conclusions: These data support a role for the 5-HT1A receptor in the aberrant decision-making that can occur in neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2579-2586 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Psychopharmacology |
Volume | 231 |
Issue number | 13 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2014 |
Keywords
- Cognition
- Decision-making
- Hippocampus
- Positron emission tomography (PET)
- Serotonin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology