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Zamoscik V, Schmidt SNL, Bravo R, Ugartemendia L, Plieger T, Rodríguez AB, Reuter M, Kirsch P. Tryptophan-enriched diet or 5-hydroxytryptophan supplementation given in a randomized controlled trial impacts social cognition on a neural and behavioral level. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21637. [PMID: 34737364 PMCID: PMC8568973 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01164-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding of emotions and intentions are key processes in social cognition at which serotonin is an important neuromodulator. Its precursor is the essential amino acid tryptophan (TRP). Reduced TRP availability leads to weaker impulse control ability and higher aggression, while TRP supplementation promotes confidence. In a double-blind placebo-controlled fMRI study with 77 healthy adults, we investigated the influence of a 4 week TRP enriched diet and an acute 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) intake on two social-cognitive tasks, a moral evaluation and an emotion recognition task. With 5-HTP, immoral behavior without negative consequences was rated as more reprehensible. Additionally, during story reading, activation in insula and supramarginal gyrus was increased after TRP intake. No significant effects of TRP on emotion recognition were identified for the whole sample. Importantly, emotion recognition ability decreased with age which was for positive emotions compensated by TRP. Since the supramarginal gyrus is associated with empathy, pain and related information integration results could be interpreted as reflecting stricter evaluation of negative behavior due to better integration of information. Improved recognition of positive emotions with TRP in older participants supports the use of a TRP-rich diet to compensate for age related decline in social-cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Zamoscik
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J 5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany. .,Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
| | - S N L Schmidt
- Research Group of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - R Bravo
- Chrononutrition Laboratory, Neuroimmunephysiology and Chrononutrition Research Group, Faculty of Science, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | - L Ugartemendia
- Chrononutrition Laboratory, Neuroimmunephysiology and Chrononutrition Research Group, Faculty of Science, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | - T Plieger
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - A B Rodríguez
- Chrononutrition Laboratory, Neuroimmunephysiology and Chrononutrition Research Group, Faculty of Science, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | - M Reuter
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - P Kirsch
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J 5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
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Thirkettle M, Barker LM, Gallagher T, Nayeb N, Aquili L. Dissociable Effects of Tryptophan Supplementation on Negative Feedback Sensitivity and Reversal Learning. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:127. [PMID: 31316358 PMCID: PMC6609902 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Serotonin has been shown to modulate probabilistic reversal learning (PRL) and negative feedback sensitivity (NFS) in both animal and human studies. Whilst these two measures are tightly coupled, some studies have suggested that these may be mediated by independent mechanisms; the former, representing perseveration and cognitive flexibility, and the latter measuring the ability to maintain a response set (win-stay) at the expense of lose-shift behavior when occasional misleading feedback has been presented. Here, we tested this hypothesis in 44 healthy participants who were administered tryptophan (22 placebo, 22 tryptophan), a precursor to serotonin. We found a dissociable effect of tryptophan supplementation on PRL/NFS. Specifically, tryptophan administration increased NFS compared to the placebo group but had no effect on PRL. We discuss these findings in relation to dosages and with a particular focus on the acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Thirkettle
- Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Laura-Marie Barker
- Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Gallagher
- Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Nazgol Nayeb
- Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Luca Aquili
- Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
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Influences of glutamine administration on response selection and sequence learning: a randomized-controlled trial. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2693. [PMID: 28578427 PMCID: PMC5457419 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02957-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Precursors of neurotransmitters are increasingly often investigated as potential, easily-accessible methods of neuromodulation. However, the amino-acid glutamine, precursor to the brain’s main excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA, remains notably little investigated. The current double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study provides first evidence 2.0 g glutamine administration in healthy adults affects response selection but not motor sequence learning in a serial reaction time task. Specifically, glutamine increased response selection errors when the current target response required a different hand than the directly preceding target response, which might indicate enhanced cortical excitability via a presumed increase in glutamate levels. These results suggest glutamine can alter cortical excitability but, despite the critical roles of glutamate and GABA in motor learning, at its current dose glutamine does not affect sequence learning.
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Kret ME, Bocanegra BR. Editorial: Adaptive Hot Cognition: How Emotion Drives Information Processing and Cognition Steers Affective Processing. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1920. [PMID: 27999561 PMCID: PMC5138567 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mariska E Kret
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden UniversityLeiden, Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden, Netherlands
| | - Bruno R Bocanegra
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden UniversityLeiden, Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden, Netherlands
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Steenbergen L, Jongkees BJ, Sellaro R, Colzato LS. Tryptophan supplementation modulates social behavior: A review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 64:346-58. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.02.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Revised: 02/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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Crockett MJ, Cools R. Serotonin and aversive processing in affective and social decision-making. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Hommel B, Colzato LS. Interpersonal trust: an event-based account. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1399. [PMID: 26441774 PMCID: PMC4584930 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 09/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Hommel
- Cognitive Psychology Unit and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Lorenza S Colzato
- Cognitive Psychology Unit and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Leiden, Netherlands
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