Abstract for presentation at International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions Congress

Mood changes in male patients with ADHD after an acute serotonergic dysfunction: Effects of rapid tryptophan depletion

  • Florian Zepf, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Lothar Demisch, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Marcus Schmitt, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Meike Landgraf, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Christina Stadler, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Fritz Poustka, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    • Introduction: 5-HT has been shown to influence aggressive behavior with evidence coming from animal and human studies. However, research with children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has revealed on first view conflicting results. The present study investigated the effects of an acute serotonergic (5-HT) dysfunction and it’s effects on laboratory measured reactive aggression, impulsivity and self-reported mood/emotional state.
    Methods: 22 boys with ADHD and/or comorbid delinquent behavior disorder (DBD) were subjected to experimentally lowered 5-HT-levels by rapid tryptophan depletion (RTD), on another day they received a TRP balanced placebo within a repeated measures double-blind within-subject crossover design. Self-rated mood and emotional state were assessed under both treatment conditions. Personality factors (Cloninger’s JTCI), aggressive problems and delinquency (Child Behavior Checklist, CBCL) as well as impulsivity and venturesomeness (Eysenck’s I-6) were assessed in advance of the study.
    Results: Patients with low scores on venturesomeness were significantly stronger affected by experimentally reduced 5-HT-functioning as regards negative aspects of mood (feelings of inactivity, negative feelings) compared to high venture patients. Moreover, physical aggression correlated positively with the RTD-effect on relaxation.
    Conclusions: The data of the present investigation provide further evidence that 5-HT influences different ADHD-endophenotypes with respect to personality factors comprising aspects of trait-impulsivity. Future studies are needed in order to detect if these findings are due to 5-HT, or if they are dependent on 5-HT-dopamine interactions as well as other neurotransmitter systems.

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