Using Psilocybin to Investigate the Relationship between Attention, Working Memory, and the Serotonin 1A and 2A Receptors

@article{citeulike:2464926, abstract = {Increasing evidence suggests a link between attention, working memory, serotonin (5-HT), and prefrontal cortex activity. In an attempt to tease out the relationship between these elements, this study tested the effects of the hallucinogenic mixed 5-HT1A/2A receptor agonist psilocybin alone and after pretreatment with the 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin. Eight healthy human volunteers were tested on a multiple-object tracking task and spatial working memory task under the four conditions: placebo, psilocybin (215 {micro}g/kg), ketanserin (50 mg), and psilocybin and ketanserin. Psilocybin significantly reduced attentional tracking ability, but had no significant effect on spatial working memory, suggesting a functional dissociation between the two tasks. Pretreatment with ketanserin did not attenuate the effect of psilocybin on attentional performance, suggesting a primary involvement of the 5-HT1A receptor in the observed deficit. Based on physiological and pharmacological data, we speculate that this impaired attentional performance may reflect a reduced ability to suppress or ignore distracting stimuli rather than reduced attentional capacity. The clinical relevance of these results is also discussed.}, author = {Carter, Olivia L. and Burr, David C. and Pettigrew, John D. and Wallis, Guy M. and Hasler, Felix and Vollenweider, Franz X. }, citeulike-article-id = {2464926}, journal = {J. Cogn. Neurosci.}, keywords = {5ht1a, 5ht2a, attention, hallucinagenics, magic-mushrooms, serotonin, working-memory}, month = {October}, number = {10}, pages = {1497+}, posted-at = {2008-03-04 14:07:49}, priority = {0}, title = {Using Psilocybin to Investigate the Relationship between Attention, Working Memory, and the Serotonin 1A and 2A Receptors}, url = {http://jocn.mitpress.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/10/1497}, volume = {17}, year = {2005} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2464926 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2464926 TI - Using Psilocybin to Investigate the Relationship between Attention, Working Memory, and the Serotonin 1A and 2A Receptors JF - J. Cogn. Neurosci. VL - 17 IS - 10 SP - 1497 N2 - Increasing evidence suggests a link between attention, working memory, serotonin (5-HT), and prefrontal cortex activity. In an attempt to tease out the relationship between these elements, this study tested the effects of the hallucinogenic mixed 5-HT1A/2A receptor agonist psilocybin alone and after pretreatment with the 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin. Eight healthy human volunteers were tested on a multiple-object tracking task and spatial working memory task under the four conditions: placebo, psilocybin (215 {micro}g/kg), ketanserin (50 mg), and psilocybin and ketanserin. Psilocybin significantly reduced attentional tracking ability, but had no significant effect on spatial working memory, suggesting a functional dissociation between the two tasks. Pretreatment with ketanserin did not attenuate the effect of psilocybin on attentional performance, suggesting a primary involvement of the 5-HT1A receptor in the observed deficit. Based on physiological and pharmacological data, we speculate that this impaired attentional performance may reflect a reduced ability to suppress or ignore distracting stimuli rather than reduced attentional capacity. The clinical relevance of these results is also discussed. KW - 5ht1a KW - 5ht2a KW - attention KW - hallucinagenics KW - magic-mushrooms KW - serotonin KW - working-memory AU - Carter, Olivia AU - Burr, David AU - Pettigrew, John AU - Wallis, Guy AU - Hasler, Felix AU - Vollenweider, Franz PY - 2005/10/01/ UR - http://jocn.mitpress.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/10/1497 ER -