Effects of tryptophan depletion on reactive aggression and aggressive decision‐making in young people with ADHD

Abstract

An effect of ATD on increased aggression was found in the whole sample after LP. Research involving larger samples is needed to confirm the present preliminary findings.

Tryptophan depletion affects compulsive behaviour in rats: strain dependent effects and associated neuromechanisms

“…However, taking into account studies using neuropsychological tasks instead of questionnaires, patients with psychopathologies from the impulsive-compulsive spectrum seem to aggravate their symptoms when exposed to ATD. For instance, ATD increased omissions in the continuous performance task (Mette et al 2013; Zepf et al 2010) and aggressive behaviour in ADHD patients (Kötting et al 2013; Stadler et al 2007; Zepf et al 2008, 2009; Zimmermann et al 2012). Interestingly, ATD impaired go/no-go performance (LeMarquand et al 1999) and stop signal reaction time (Crean et al 2002) in healthy men with family history of alcoholism and also increased commission errors in the go/no-go task in an aggressive subgroup of people with ADHD (LeMarquand et al 1998).…”

Effects of serotonin depletion on punishment processing in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices of healthy women

“…Reduced OFC and ACC activation after ATD administration in the face of punishment might explain the decreased impulse control in the face of negative consequences observed in psychiatric patients likely to exhibit low central nervous system 5-HT levels and high trait impulsivity (Kötting et al, 2013;Lis et al, 2007). By implication, our results regarding ATD effects support the assumption that administration of SSRIs can prevent such effects, by possibly acting on the neurotransmission in the OFC and ACC, which, as mentioned earlier, is of high relevance as SSRIs are a widely accepted interventional strategy for such patients (American Psychiatric Association, 2001).…”

“…Dysfunction of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) plays a decisive role in many neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by inappropriate impulse control, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) (Kötting et al, 2013;Lis et al, 2007). Previous research suggests an influence of altered serotonergic neurotransmission on inhibition processes, which are closely related to impulse control and inhibited or, with respect to the outlined psychopathologies, disinhibited behavior.…”

The impact of acute tryptophan depletion on attentional performance in adult patients with ADHD

“…The ATD procedure by Moja et al (45), a method of diminishing central 5-HT synthesis in human subjects, lowers central 5-HT synthesis by decreasing the influx of TRP over the blood-brain barrier into the brain by orally administering a TRP-free amino acid mixture (46,47). This procedure was recently validated in an animal model (46) and was also used in studies with young people (48,49). The reduced influx of free plasma TRP is achieved by changing the plasma concentrations of other long-chained neutral amino acids (LNAAs) and their ratio to free plasma TRP at the L-1 transporter at the blood-brain barrier.…”