Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
Volume 3, Issue 4, Pages 277-283Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S1461145700002133
Keywords
monoamine metabolites; tryptophan depletion; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
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Plasma tryptophan (Trp) depletion is a commonly used tool for determining the role of brain serotonin (5-HT) function in a variety of psychiatric disorders. This study measured the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) monoamine metabolite response to Trp depletion and control testing in five healthy subjects utilizing a single lumbar puncture. Testing was done in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, cross-over design. Plasma-free and total Trp levels and behavioural ratings were obtained prior to and 5 h after ingestion of each amino-acid drink. CSF was obtained by performing a standard lumbar puncture 7 h after ingestion of the drink. Compared to control testing, Trp depletion caused a significant decrease of CSF 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) (p = 0.03), but not of homovanillic acid or 3-mefhoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol. Behavioural ratings were minimally affected in all subjects. This confirms that plasma Trp depletion reduces central nervous system measures of 5-HT function and suggests that the single lumbar puncture technique may be sufficient to detect the extent of CSF 5-HIAA. changes during Trp depletion studies.
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