Tryptophan depletion impairs object-recognition memory in the rat: Reversal by risperidone

Tryptophan depletion techniques are effective in reducing central serotonergic function and have been used to investigate its role in mood and cognition. In the present study a tryptophan-free diet was fed to Lister-hooded male rats chronically for 21 days to investigate the effect of lowering central serotonin concentration on cognition using the novel object-recognition paradigm. Chronically tryptophan-depleted rats had impaired object-recognition memory; this was accompanied by a reduction in central serotonin of 40–50% in the hippocampus, frontal cortex and striatum. In a subsequent experiment, the atypical antipsychotic, risperidone (0.2 mg/kg), but not the typical antipsychotic, haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg), administered i.p. 30 min prior to the retention test, significantly attenuated the chronic tryptophan depletion impairment. These data show that chronic lowering of central serotonin is associated with impaired cognitive performance, and that this can be reversed by the atypical antipsychotic, risperidone.