Decreased thalamo-cortico connectivity during an implicit sequence motor 
learning task and 7 days escitalopram intake

Molloy, Eoin; Zsido, Rachel; Piecha, Fabian A.; Beinhölzl, Nathalie; Scharrer, Ulrike; Zheleva, Gergana; Regenthal, Ralf; Sehm, Bernhard; Nikulin, Vadim V.; Möller, Harald E.; Villringer, Arno; Sacher, Julia; Mueller, Karsten

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94009-7

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Decreased thalamo-cortico connectivity during an implicit sequence motor learning task and 7 days escitalopram intake

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Molloy, Eoin
Minerva Research Group EGG (Emotion & neuroimaGinG) Lab, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons208314

Zsido, Rachel
Minerva Research Group EGG (Emotion & neuroimaGinG) Lab, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig, Germany;

Piecha, Fabian A.
Minerva Research Group EGG (Emotion & neuroimaGinG) Lab, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons241824

Beinhölzl, Nathalie
Minerva Research Group EGG (Emotion & neuroimaGinG) Lab, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;

Scharrer, Ulrike
Minerva Research Group EGG (Emotion & neuroimaGinG) Lab, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;

Zheleva, Gergana
Minerva Research Group EGG (Emotion & neuroimaGinG) Lab, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons19994

Sehm, Bernhard
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Department of Neurology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany;

/persons/resource/persons201758

Nikulin, Vadim V.
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia;

/persons/resource/persons19864

Möller, Harald E.
Methods and Development Unit Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons20065

Villringer, Arno
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
MindBrainBody Institute, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany;
Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, Germany;

/persons/resource/persons19956

Sacher, Julia
Minerva Research Group EGG (Emotion & neuroimaGinG) Lab, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Department Neurology, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;
Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig, Germany;
Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, Germany;

/persons/resource/persons19872

Mueller, Karsten
Method and Development Group Neural Data Science and Statistical Computing, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Molloy, E., Zsido, R., Piecha, F. A., Beinhölzl, N., Scharrer, U., Zheleva, G., et al. (2021). Decreased thalamo-cortico connectivity during an implicit sequence motor learning task and 7 days escitalopram intake. Scientific Reports, 11(1): 15060. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94009-7.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0009-29BE-4

Abstract

Evidence suggests that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) reorganize neural networks via a transient window of neuroplasticity. While previous findings support an effect of SSRIs on intrinsic functional connectivity, little is known regarding the influence of SSRI-administration on connectivity during sequence motor learning. To investigate this, we administered 20 mg escitalopram or placebo for 1-week to 60 healthy female participants undergoing concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging and sequence motor training in a double-blind randomized controlled design. We assessed task-modulated functional connectivity with a psycho-physiological interaction (PPI) analysis in the thalamus, putamen, cerebellum, dorsal premotor, primary motor, supplementary motor, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. Comparing an implicit sequence learning condition to a control learning condition, we observed decreased connectivity between the thalamus and bilateral motor regions after 7 days of escitalopram intake. Additionally, we observed a negative correlation between plasma escitalopram levels and PPI connectivity changes, with higher escitalopram levels being associated with greater thalamo-cortico decreases. Our results suggest that escitalopram enhances network-level processing efficiency during sequence motor learning, despite no changes in behaviour. Future studies in more diverse samples, however, with quantitative imaging of neurochemical markers of excitation and inhibition, are necessary to further assess neural responses to escitalopram.