Studies of Alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine, L-dopa, and L-tryptophan in Depression and Mania
WILLIAM E. BUNNEY JR. M.D.,
H. KEITH H. BRODIE M.D.1,
DENNIS L. MURPHY M.D., , and
FREDERICK K. GOODWIN M.D.
1 Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif.
L-dopa and L-tryptophan, metabolic precursors of norepinephrine and serotonin respectively, and 
MPT, a blocker of catecholamine synthesis, were administered to depressed and manic patients in an attempt to decrease their psychopathology and to test the monoamine theory of affective disorders. L-dopa and MPT clearly altered mood and thought patterns in some patients, while L-tryptophan was less active. Analysis of urinary and cerebrospinal fluid amine metabolites documented the metabolic effects of the compounds during periods of behavioral change.
