Acute tryptophan depletion Moja-De: a method to study central nervous serotonin function in children and adolescents

Affiliation
Centre & Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia
Stewart, Richard M.;
Affiliation
Centre & Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia
Wong, Janice W. Y.;
Affiliation
Centre & Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia
Mahfouda, Simone;
Affiliation
Centre & Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia
Morandini, Hugo A. E.;
Affiliation
Centre & Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia
Rao, Pradeep;
Affiliation
Centre & Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia
Runions, Kevin C.;
GND
134306139
Affiliation
Centre & Discipline of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia
Zepf, Florian D.

Serotonin (5-HT) is widely implicated as a key neurotransmitter relevant to a range of psychiatric disorders and psychological processes. The role of central nervous 5-HT function underlying these processes can be examined through serotonergic challenge methodologies. Acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) is a key challenge method whereby a diminished dietary intake of tryptophan—the amino acid precursor to brain 5-HT synthesis—results in temporary diminished central nervous 5-HT synthesis. While this particular methodology has been used in adult populations, it was only recently that modifications were made to enable the use of ATD in child and adolescent populations. Additionally, the Moja-De modification of the ATD challenge methodology has demonstrated benefits over other ATD techniques used previously. The aim of this protocol paper is to describe the ATD Moja-De methodology in detail, its benefits, as well as studies that have been conducted to validate the procedure in child and adolescent samples. The ATD Moja-De protocol provides a potential methodology for investigating the role of central nervous 5-HT via manipulation of brain tryptophan availability in human psychopathology from a developmental viewpoint.

Cite

Citation style:
Could not load citation form.

Rights

License Holder: Copyright © 2020 Stewart, Wong, Mahfouda, Morandini, Rao, Runions and Zepf

Use and reproduction:
This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.