Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer
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 huma...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2016-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00532/full |
| _version_ | 1811289921208451072 |
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| author | Alice Kitty Lagas Joanna Mary Black Winston D. Byblow Melanie Kate Fleming Melanie Kate Fleming Lucy Goodman Rob Kydd Bruce Russell Bruce Russell Cathy Stinear Benjamin Thompson Benjamin Thompson |
| author_facet | Alice Kitty Lagas Joanna Mary Black Winston D. Byblow Melanie Kate Fleming Melanie Kate Fleming Lucy Goodman Rob Kydd Bruce Russell Bruce Russell Cathy Stinear Benjamin Thompson Benjamin Thompson |
| author_sort | Alice Kitty Lagas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T04:03:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb841d654d974191925ca1fb6a797726 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T04:03:43Z |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb841d654d974191925ca1fb6a7977262022-12-22T03:03:24ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612016-10-011010.3389/fnhum.2016.00532220233Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transferAlice Kitty Lagas0Joanna Mary Black1Winston D. Byblow2Melanie Kate Fleming3Melanie Kate Fleming4Lucy Goodman5Rob Kydd6Bruce Russell7Bruce Russell8Cathy Stinear9Benjamin Thompson10Benjamin Thompson11University of AucklandUniversity of AucklandUniversity of AucklandUniversity of AucklandKings CollegeUniversity of AucklandUniversity of AucklandUniversity of AucklandUniversity of OtagoUniversity of AucklandUniversity of WaterlooUniversity of AucklandThe 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.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00532/fullFluoxetineGABA AgonistsLearningMotion PerceptionSerotonin Uptake InhibitorsTriazolam |
| spellingShingle | Alice Kitty Lagas Joanna Mary Black Winston D. Byblow Melanie Kate Fleming Melanie Kate Fleming Lucy Goodman Rob Kydd Bruce Russell Bruce Russell Cathy Stinear Benjamin Thompson Benjamin Thompson Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Fluoxetine GABA Agonists Learning Motion Perception Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors Triazolam |
| title | Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer |
| title_full | Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer |
| title_fullStr | Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer |
| title_short | Fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer |
| title_sort | fluoxetine does not enhance visual perceptual learning and triazolam specifically impairs learning transfer |
| topic | Fluoxetine GABA Agonists Learning Motion Perception Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors Triazolam |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00532/full |
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