Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:1668-1671
Copyright © 1995 by American Psychiatric Association

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Acute tryptophan depletion and increased food intake and irritability in bulimia nervosa

TE Weltzin, MH Fernstrom, JD Fernstrom, SK Neuberger and WH Kaye
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, USA.

OBJECTIVE: Data suggest that serotonin activity is reduced in women at normal weight who have bulimia nervosa. The authors tested whether acute perturbations in serotonin activity could alter short-term eating behavior and mood. METHOD: They examined the effect of acute tryptophan depletion in 10 women with and 10 women without bulimia nervosa. RESULTS: Women with bulimia nervosa exhibited an increase in caloric intake and mood irritability after acute tryptophan depletion. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that women with bulimia nervosa have an exaggerated or pathological response to transient alterations in serotonin activity.

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