Original Article

No effect of acute tryptophan depletion on verbal declarative memory in young persons with ADHD

  1. F. D. Zepf1,2,3,4,*,
  2. M. Landgraf4,
  3. C. S. Biskup1,2,3,
  4. B. Dahmen1,
  5. F. Poustka4,
  6. L. Wöckel4,5,
  7. C. Stadler4,6

Article first published online: 19 FEB 2013

DOI: 10.1111/acps.12089

Additional Information

How to Cite

Zepf FD, Landgraf M, Biskup CS, Dahmen B, Poustka F, Wöckel L, Stadler C. No effect of acute tryptophan depletion on verbal declarative memory in young persons with ADHD.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

  2. 2

    Jülich Research Centre, Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich, Germany

  3. 3

    JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen & Jülich, Germany

  4. 4

    Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

  5. 5

    Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Clienia Littenheid AG, Littenheid, Switzerland

  6. 6

    Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the Psychiatric University Clinics, Basel, Switzerland

* F. D. Zepf, Translational Neuroscience in Psychiatry and Neurology, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Neuenhofer Weg 21, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
E-mail: fzepf@ukaachen.de

Publication History

  1. Article first published online: 19 FEB 2013
  2. Manuscript Accepted: 3 JAN 2013

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Keywords:

  • serotonin;
  • ADHD ;
  • memory;
  • learning;
  • AVLT

Objective

Animal experiments and studies in adults have shown that the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in learning and memory processes. However, data on this relationship in young persons are scarce, and neurodietary research in this age group is limited compared with the extensive literature on adults. Here, we aimed to explore the effects of a diminished central nervous 5-HT synthesis, which is achieved by acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) Moja-De , on memory function in young males with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Method

Twenty-two male patients with ADHD (ages 9–15 years, mean 10.95 ± 1.17 years) received ATD, thus diminishing central nervous 5-HT synthesis, and a tryptophan-balanced amino acid load (BAL) in a randomized, double-blind, within-subject, crossover design study. Approximately 1.7 h after administration of ATD/BAL, verbal declarative memory was assessed using the ‘Auditory Verbal-Learning-Test’ (AVLT).

Results

There were no significant effects of ATD administration on verbal declarative memory function.

Conclusion

In this study, changes in 5-HT neurotransmission were not associated with specific aspects of verbal declarative memory in young persons with ADHD. Future studies with healthy control groups that address effects of covarying attentional processes are warranted.

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