An investigation into serotonergic and environmental interventions against depression in a simulated delayed reward paradigm
bioRxiv Preprint Server April 4, 2019 Bernd Porr, Alex Trew, Alice Miller 1 citation preprint
A computational model of the limbic system compares two pharmacological approaches to treating depression: SSRIs, which increase serotonin accumulation, and psychedelics, which stimulate excitatory serotonin receptors. The model simulates a delayed reward paradigm disrupted by low serotonin. Low serotonin allows small signals to pass through decision-making neurons, while high serotonin blocks smaller signals but amplifies larger ones. Behavioral simulations and model checking show SSRIs perform significantly better than psychedelics in this paradigm. However, psychedelics might be more effective in situations where high exploration is beneficial for obtaining rewards.