Diet rich in -lactalbumin improves memory in unmedicated recovered depressed patients and matched controls

¹ Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
² Faculty of Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastrict, the Netherlands.
³ Department of Psychology, Leiden University and Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

	Abstract

Depression is associated with reduced brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) function and with cognitive dysfunctions. A diet rich in -lactalbumin protein has been found to increase the ratio tryptophan /large neutral amino acids (Trp/LNAA), and to improve cognitive functioning in individuals with high neuroticism scores. Since cognitive dysfunctions sometimes persist after remission of depression, the present study investigated the effects of -lactalbumin-enriched diet on cognition in recovered depressed patients.

Twenty-three recovered depressed patients and 20 healthy matched controls without a history of depression consumed meals rich in -lactalbumin or casein protein in a double-blind crossover design. Mood, cognitive function and plasma amino acids were assessed at both sessions before and after dietary intake.

Alpha-lactalbumin protein had no effect on mood, but improved abstract visual memory and impaired simple motor performance. These effects were independent of history of depression. Supplements of -lactalbumin may be useful for nutrition research in relation to age- or disease-related memory decline. The present findings should be further examined in different (e.g. medicated) samples. The long-term effects of -lactalbumin should also be investigated.

Key Words: serotonin, depression, cognition, memory, tryptophan, alpha-lactalbumin

First published on September 20, 2005, doi:10.1177/0269881105057466

Journal of Psychopharmacology 2006;20:526.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2006


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