Journal of Psychopharmacology

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Register here to gain access to SAGE's 500+ Journals Online

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
0269881106075271v1
21/5/519    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Scrutton, H.
Right arrow Articles by Harmer, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Scrutton, H.
Right arrow Articles by Harmer, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
First published on April 19, 2007, doi:10.1177/0269881106075271

Journal of Psychopharmacology 2007;21:519.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2007

Article

Effects of {alpha}-lactalbumin on emotional processing in healthy women

Helen Scrutton1, Anne Carbonnier1, Philip J Cowen1*, Catherine Harmer2

1 University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford UK.
2 Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.


  Abstract

The synthesis of serotonin (5-HT) in the central nervous system is dependent on the availability to the brain of its precursor amino acid, tryptophan (TRP). Recent studies suggest that {alpha}-lactalbumin, a whey-derived protein with a relatively high TRP content, increases plasma TRP and produces endocrine and cognitive changes consistent with facilitation of brain 5-HT function. In the present study we assessed the biochemical and cognitive effects of {alpha}-lactalbumin (40 g) in 28 healthy female subjects in a parallel group, placebo-controlled design. Relative to a casein-derived control protein, {alpha}-lactalbumin increased plasma TRP and the ratio of TRP to neutral amino acids. However, there was no effect on salivary cortisol secretion or tasks of emotional processing shown previously to be sensitive to pharmacological manipulation of 5-HT in healthy volunteers. The results suggest that {alpha}-lactalbumin produces a relatively modest increase in TRP availability which may not be sufficient to produce the changes in emotional processing seen with administration of pure TRP in healthy subjects. Further studies in subjects more vulnerable to stress are needed to assess the potential therapeutic effects of {alpha}-lactalbumin in clinical populations.

Key Words: serotonin;TRP;{alpha}-lactalbumin;emotional processing;cortisol


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?