Constitutive depletion of brain serotonin differentially affects rats' social and cognitive abilities.

ABSTRACT: Central serotonin appears a promising transdiagnostic marker of psychiatric disorders and a modulator of some of their key behavioral symptoms. In adult male Tph2 ^-/- rats, constitutively lacking central serotonin, we tested individual's cognitive, social and non-social abilities and characterized group's social organization under classical and ethological testing conditions. Using unsupervised machine learning, we identified the functions most dependent on serotonin. Although serotonin depletion did not affect cognitive performances in classical testing, in the home-cage it induced compulsive aggression and sexual behavior, hyperactive and hypervigilant stereotyped behavior, reduced self-care and exacerbated corticosterone levels. This profile recalled symptoms of

SUBMITTER: Alonso L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9926123 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature