Pro-cognitive agent could have therapeutic use, according to a new study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
Philadelphia, June 13, 2023 – Cognitive deficits accompany mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions, often with debilitating effects. Limited treatments currently exist, but studies in animals and humans have pointed to drugs such as the laxative prucalopride that activate serotonin receptors as a potential therapeutic for the symptoms. It has remained unclear, however, how the medication affects resting brain activity. Now, a new study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, published by Elsevier, examines the drug’s effects in healthy human adults.
Serotonin receptors and the 5-HT4-type receptors in particular are found in areas throughout the brain, including the frontal cortex, basal ganglia, and hippocampus, that are known to mediate cognitive function and regulate mood. Serotonin receptors are the primary targets of antidepressant medications, but resolving mood disturbances often does not resolve cognitive symptoms.
The researchers enlisted 50 healthy volunteers, half of whom received a six-day course of prucalopride, a high
