Citation

Bond AJ, Wingrove J, Critchlow DG. Psychopharmacology 2001; 156(4): 477-480.

Affiliation

Section of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. a.bond@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11498726

Abstract

RATIONALE: Reducing serotonin by the method of tryptophan depletion (TD) has led to increased aggression but experimental studies have not used female subjects. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of TD on aggression in women in the late luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. METHODS: Healthy women were recruited and randomly assigned to an amino acid drink either depleted or with a balanced amount of tryptophan. At 4.5 h later, they competed on the competitive reaction time task. RESULTS: Women who had received the TD drink showed more behavioural aggression in response to provocation. CONCLUSION: Decreased serotonergic neurotransmission increases aggression in women as well as men.

Language: en