Acute administration of nutritionally sourced tryptophan increases fear recognition
Abstract
Rationale The serotonin precursor tryptophan (TRP) has been widely used as a nutritional supplement and antidepressant. Recently, however, the use of TRP has been severely restricted due to its association with the eosinophilic myalgic syndrome, an autoimmune disorder probably caused by ingestion of a contaminant produced in certain TRP manufacturing processes. Objectives To determine the bioavailability of a nutritional source of TRP obtained from milk protein and to assess whether administration of this material produced neuroendocrine and neuropsychological effects consistent with increased brain serotonin activity. Methods We studied 24 healthy subjects who ingested approximately 1.8 g of nutritionally-sourced TRP or placebo in a double-blind, parallel group, design. We carried out venous sampling for amino acid and hormone estimation and performed a test of emotional processing using a facial expression recognition task. Results The nutritionally-sourced TRP caused a substantial increase in the availability of TRP in plasma. Relative to placebo the TRP material produced some evidence of an increase in plasma cortisol, and enhanced the perception of fearful and happy facial expressions. Conclusions A nutritional source of TRP increased the availability of TRP for brain serotonin synthesis and produced endocrine and neuropsychological changes consistent with increased brain serotonin function. The effect of TRP on emotional processing may be relevant to its reported activi…
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Acutely increasing 5-HT function with a single dose of tryptophan or citalopram increased fear recognition in 4 of 5 studies of healthy volunteers.
“Increasing 5-HT function acutely in 5 studies of healthy volunteers from the same group in Oxford, using a single dose of tryptophan or citalopram, increased fear recognition in 4 studies (Attenburrow et al., 2003;Bhagwagar et al., 2004;Browning et al., 2007;Harmer et al., 2003a) but not in the fifth (Murphy et al., 2009a).”
From Affective Cognition and its Disruption in Mood Disorders (2011) · cites this paper as Attenburrow et al., 2003
In 3 of those studies, there was also an increase in recognition of happiness.
“In 3 of the studies there was also an increase in recognition of happiness (Attenburrow et al., 2003;Harmer et al., 2003a;Murphy et al., 2009a).”
From Affective Cognition and its Disruption in Mood Disorders (2011) · cites this paper as Attenburrow et al., 2003
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“2003b) while acute administration of tryptophan, by contrast, increases subjects’ ability to recognize fear expressions (Attenburrow et al. 2003).”
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“Acute administration of tryptophan (the dietary precursor of serotonin) is associated with improved emotion recognition (Attenburrow et al., 2003), whilst acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) is associated with increased errors (Harmer et al., 2003).”
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“For example, human studies have shown that manipulation of brain 5-HT levels is associated with effects on recognition of emotional facial expressions (Attenburrow et al. 2003; Browning et al. 2007; Harmer et al. 2003a; Murphy et al. 2006).”
BackgroundSerotonergic modulation of face-emotion recognition
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“Of these, ten (15-24) evaluated the effects of acute manipulation of the 5-HT system.”
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“Harmer described that 10 micrograms of citalopram improved the recognition of fear, and that the acute depletion of tryptophan worsened the recognition of fear,(38) while dietary tryptophan supplementation seems to improve facial emotion recognition.(39) Battaglia showed that children who have one or two copies of the…”
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“This finding was replicated after administration of tryptophan.(75) Effects of Antidepressant Drugs on Emotion CLINICAL NEUROPHARMACOLOGY”
BackgroundSerotonergic Contribution to Boys' Behavioral Regulation
Nantel‐Vivier, A., Pihl, R. O., Young, S. N., Parent, S., Bélanger, S. A., Sutton, R. S., Dubois, M.-E., Tremblay, R. E., & Séguin, J. R. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020304 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“Human studies replicated these findings [14,20,29,30], and additionally found positive associations between serotonin and emotion recognition [31–34].”
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“The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medic the Prevention and Treatment of Occupational Diseases, c Department of Social Medic Huazhong University of Science and Technology, dCompulsory Residential…”
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“A similar effect has been seen with acute administration of serotonin precursor, tryptophan (Attenburrow et al., 2003).”
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“Some previous examples, but not including the genetic part, also suggest this: it seems that the elevated levels of serotonin after the administration of its precursor (tryptophan) or inhibitors of its transporters, facilitate the recognition of threatening faces in humans [72,73], and the acquisition of a conditioned…”
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“However, it has been emphasized that the effects of serotonergic challenge on fear recognition and amygdala activation appear to be dependent upon the individual’s baseline sensitivity to threat [212], gender [213] and genotype [214].”
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- Authors
- Attenburrow, M.-J., Williams, C., Odontiadis, J., Reed, A., Powell, J., Cowen, P. J., & Harmer, C. J.
- Affiliations
- Warneford Hospital (GB)
- Unilever (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Cowen, P. J.
- Venue
- Psychopharmacology
- Published
- 2003-08-01
- Volume
- 169
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 104-107
- ISSN
- 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-2072
- OpenAlex
- W2052009832
- Cited by
- 96
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 2.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Unilever
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- tryptophan, serotonin, facial expression recognition, fear recognition, emotional processing, cortisol, milk protein, neuropsychological outcomes
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Biological Availability, Diet, Double-Blind Method, Facial Expression, Fear, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Middle Aged, Prolactin, Serotonin, Tryptophan, Human Growth Hormone
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