title: γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) administration improves action selection processes: a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: In order to accomplish a task goal, real-life environments require us to develop different action control strategies in order to rapidly react to fast-moving visual and auditory stimuli. When engaging in complex scenarios, it is essential to prioritise and cascade different actions. Recent studies have pointed to an important role of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic system in the neuromodulation of action cascading. In this study we assessed the specific causal role of the GABA-ergic system in modulating the efficiency of action cascading by administering 800 mg of synthetic GABA or 800 mg oral of microcrystalline cellulose (placebo). In a double-blind, randomised, between-group design, 30 healthy adults performed a stop-change paradigm. Results showed that the administration of GABA, compared to placebo, increased action selection when an interruption (stop) and a change towards an alternative response were required simultaneously, and when such a change had to occur after the completion of the stop process. These findings, involving the systemic administration of synthetic GABA, provide the first evidence for a possible causal role of the GABA-ergic system in modulating performance in action cascading.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steenbergen
authors.affiliation: Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sellaro
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine of the TU Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Ann-Kathrin
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Stock
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine of the TU Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beste
authors.affiliation: Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lorenza S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Colzato
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D003657:Decision Making / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D055815:Young Adult; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid