A Pharmacological Analysis of an Associative Learning Task: 5-HT₁ to 5-HT₇ Receptor Subtypes Function on a Pavlovian/Instrumental Autoshaped Memory

Abstract

Recent studies using both invertebrates and mammals have revealed that endogenous serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) modulates plasticity processes, including learning and memory. However, little is currently known about the mechanisms, loci, or time window of the actions of 5-HT. The aim of this review is to discuss some recent results on the effects of systemic administration of selective agonists and antagonists of 5-HT on associative learning in a Pavlovian/instrumental autoshaping (P/I-A) task in rats. The results indicate that pharmacological manipulation of 5-HT_1-7 receptors or 5-HT reuptake sites might modulate memory consolidation, which is consistent with the emerging notion that 5-HT plays a key role in memory formation.