TY - JOUR T1 - Serotonin and Aversive Pavlovian Control of Instrumental Behavior in Humans JF - The Journal of Neuroscience JO - J. Neurosci. SP - 18932 LP - 18939 DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2749-13.2013 VL - 33 IS - 48 AU - Dirk E.M. Geurts AU - Quentin J.M. Huys AU - Hanneke E.M. den Ouden AU - Roshan Cools Y1 - 2013/11/27 UR - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/48/18932.abstract N2 - Adaptive decision-making involves interaction between systems regulating Pavlovian and instrumental control of behavior. Here we investigate in humans the role of serotonin in such Pavlovian-instrumental transfer in both the aversive and the appetitive domain using acute tryptophan depletion, known to lower central serotonin levels. Acute tryptophan depletion attenuated the inhibiting effect of aversive Pavlovian cues on instrumental behavior, while leaving unaltered the activating effect of appetitive Pavlovian cues. These data suggest that serotonin is selectively involved in Pavlovian inhibition due to aversive expectations and have implications for our understanding of the mechanisms underlying a range of affective, impulsive, and aggressive neuropsychiatric disorders. ER -