Serotonin is implicated in multiple executive functions including goal-directed learning, cognitive flexibility, response inhibition and emotional regulation. These functions are impaired in several psychiatric disorders, such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. We tested the cognitive effects of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram, using an acute and clinically relevant dose (20 mg), in 66 healthy male and female volunteers in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Participants performed a cognitive test battery including a probabilistic and reversal learning task, the CANTAB intra-dimensional/extra-dimensional shift test of cognitive flexibility, a response inhibition task with interleaved stop-signal and No-Go trials and tasks measuring emotional processing. We showed that acute escitalopram administration impaired learning and cognitive flexibility, but improved the ability to inhibit responses in stop-signal trials while leaving unaffected acute emotional processing. Our findings suggest a dissociation of effects of acute escitalopram on cognitive functions, possibly mediated by differential modulation of brain serotonin levels in distinct functional neural circuits.

中文翻译：

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急性 SSRI（艾司西酞普兰）对健康人的执行、学习和情绪功能的可分离影响。

血清素与多种执行功能有关，包括目标导向学习、认知灵活性、反应抑制和情绪调节。这些功能在几种精神疾病中受损，例如抑郁症和强迫症。在一项双盲、安慰剂对照研究中，我们使用急性和临床相关剂量（20 毫克）测试了选择性 5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂艾司西酞普兰对 66 名健康男性和女性志愿者的认知影响。参与者进行了一系列认知测试，包括概率和逆转学习任务、认知灵活性的 CANTAB 维度内/维度外转移测试、具有交错停止信号和 No-Go 试验的反应抑制任务以及测量情绪处理的任务。我们表明，急性依他普仑给药会损害学习和认知灵活性，但会提高抑制停止信号试验中反应的能力，同时不影响急性情绪处理。我们的研究结果表明，急性艾司西酞普兰对认知功能的影响存在分离，这可能是由不同功能神经回路中大脑血清素水平的差异调节所介导的。