Open AccessBrain serotonin 4 receptor binding is inversely associated with verbal memory recall
Author(s) -
Stenbæk Dea S.,
Fisher Patrick M.,
Ozenne Brice,
Andersen Emil,
Hjordt Liv V.,
McMahon Brenda,
Hasselbalch Steen G.,
Frokjaer Vibe G.,
Knudsen Gitte M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
brain and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 41
ISSN - 2162-3279
DOI - 10.1002/brb3.674
Subject(s) - recall , association (psychology) , psychology , verbal memory , episodic memory , free recall , radioligand , binding potential , audiology , clinical psychology , cognition , neuroscience , medicine , cognitive psychology , receptor , positron emission tomography , psychotherapist
Background We have previously identified an inverse relationship between cerebral serotonin 4 receptor (5‐ HT 4 R) binding and nonaffective episodic memory in healthy individuals. Here, we investigate in a novel sample if the association is related to affective components of memory, by examining the association between cerebral 5‐ HT 4 R binding and affective verbal memory recall. Methods Twenty‐four healthy volunteers were scanned with the 5‐ HT 4 R radioligand [ 11 C] SB 207145 and positron emission tomography, and were tested with the Verbal Affective Memory Test‐24. The association between 5‐ HT 4 R binding and affective verbal memory was evaluated using a linear latent variable structural equation model. Results We observed a significant inverse association across all regions between 5‐ HT 4 R binding and affective verbal memory performances for positive ( p = 5.5 × 10 −4 ) and neutral ( p = .004) word recall, and an inverse but nonsignificant association for negative ( p = .07) word recall. Differences in the associations with 5‐ HT 4 R binding between word categories (i.e., positive, negative, and neutral) did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion Our findings replicate our previous observation of a negative association between 5‐ HT 4 R binding and memory performance in an independent cohort and provide novel evidence linking 5‐ HT 4 R binding, as a biomarker for synaptic 5‐ HT levels, to the mnestic processing of positive and neutral word stimuli in healthy humans.