Search for correlations between serotonin 5-HT1A receptor expression and cognitive functions--a strategy in translational psychopharmacology.
BACKGROUND
Animal studies and studies of human aging have suggested that the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor may serve as a biomarker for cognitive functioning and a target for pharmacological treatment of cognitive deficits.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this positron emission tomography (PET) study was to search for relationships between interindividual variability in serotonin 5-HT1A receptor binding potential (BP) and cognitive functioning.


METHODS
Twenty-four male control subjects, age 20-55 years, were examined with [11C]WAY100635 PET and a battery of cognitive tests. 5-HT1A receptor binding potential were calculated for the raphe nuclei, the hippocampus and the neocortex. Correlation coefficients between BP and cognitive performance were obtained for each region.


RESULTS
There was a severalfold of variability in 5-HT1A BP between individuals. We found no significant correlation between regional [11C]WAY100635 binding and cognitive performance.


CONCLUSIONS
The results do not provide support for involvement of the 5-HT1A receptor in cognitive functioning in man and question the predictive validity of some currently used animal models in translational neuroscience.
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden. jacqueline.borg@ki.se
Jacqueline
J
Borg
Bengt
B
Andrée
Johan
J
Lundberg
Christer
C
Halldin
Lars
L
Farde
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019579:Neocortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011903:Raphe Nuclei / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D044282:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D044282:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A