Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Melanie Kate Fleming¹  Benjamin Thompson²  Alice Kitty Lagas²  Cathy Stinear²  Winston D. Byblow²  Joanna Mary Black²  Lucy Goodman²  Rob Kydd²  Bruce Russell³ 

[1] Kings College;University of Auckland;University of Otago;University of Waterloo;

关键词: Fluoxetine;    GABA Agonists;    Learning;    Motion Perception;    Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors;    Triazolam;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2016.00532

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine significantly enhances adult visual cortex plasticity within the rat. This effect is related to decreased gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) mediated inhibition and identifies fluoxetine as a potential agent for enhancing plasticity in the adult human brain. We tested the hypothesis that fluoxetine would enhance visual perceptual learning of a motion direction discrimination (MDD) task in humans. We also investigated 1) the effect of fluoxetine on visual and motor cortex excitability and 2) the impact of increased GABA mediated inhibition following a single dose of triazolam on post-training MDD task performance. Within a double blind, placebo controlled design, 20 healthy adult participants completed a 19-day course of fluoxetine (n = 10, 20mg per day) or placebo (n = 10). Participants were trained on the MDD task over the final five days of fluoxetine administration. Accuracy for the trained MDD stimulus and an untrained MDD stimulus configuration was assessed before and after training, after triazolam and one week after triazolam. Motor and visual cortex excitability was measured using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Fluoxetine did not enhance the magnitude or rate of perceptual learning and full transfer of learning to the untrained stimulus was observed for both groups. After training was complete, trazolam had no effect on trained task performance but significantly impaired untrained task performance. No consistent effects of fluoxetine on cortical excitability were observed. The results do not support the hypothesis that fluoxetine can enhance learning in humans. However, the specific effect of triazolam on MDD task performance for the untrained stimulus suggests that learning and learning transfer relay on dissociable neural mechanisms.

【 授权许可】

Unknown