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Journal of Psychopharmacology
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Plasma tryptophan and trait aggression

Janet Wingrove

Section of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK; Section of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK J.Wingrove{at}iop.kcl.ac.uk

Alyson J. Bond

Section of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK

Anthony J. Cleare

Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK

Roy Sherwood

Department of Clinical Biochemistry, King's College Hospital, London, UK

Many studies have reported correlations between measures of aggression and indices of serotonergic function, but most have studied patient or o¡ender populations and relatively few have investigated plasma concentrations of the serotonin precursor tryptophan.This study investigates the relationship between plasma concentrations of tryptophan and trait hostility, depression and anxiety in male healthy volunteers. Sixty-seven healthy male volunteers gave blood samples and completed trait questionnaires. Plasma tryptophan was positively correlated with the BussDurkee Hostility Inventory Total score and Motor Aggression subscale, but not with the Attitudinal Hostility subscale or with trait anxiety or depression. In conclusion, there is evidence for an association between high concentrations of plasma tryptophan and aggressive behaviour in men, presumably mediated by some aspect of central serotonergic function, which seems unlikely to be explained by high trait anxiety or depression.

Key Words: aggression • hostility • plasma tryptophan

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 13, No. 3, 235-237 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/026988119901300304
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