l-Tryptophan: Effects on daytime sleep latency and the waking EEG

Spinweber, Cheryl L.; Ursin, Reidun; Hilbert, Raymond; Hilderbrand, Richard L.

doi:10.1016/0013-4694(83)90275-4

Cited by 38 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(33 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although the effect of the brain serotonin precursor, ¿-tryptophan, on sleep has been investigated thoroughly in the past [for review see [1][2][3], only a few physiological experiments examining its effects on wakefulness, in cluding methods such as EEG registrations, have been performed [4][5][6][7]. This study was therefore designed to test the sedative efficacy of an early morning administra tion of a low dose of only 2 g of ¿-try ptophan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of L-Tryptophan on Daytime Arousal

Thorleifsdottir

Björnsson²,

Kjeld³

et al. 1989

Neuropsychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A double-blind placebo-controlled study was carried out on 20 subjects to examine the early morning sedative effects of 2 g of L-tryptophan. Using brain mapping technique, 16-channel EEG recordings were topographically displayed. A distinct increase in theta amplitude, predominantly in the central region, together with an alpha reduction was observed after L-tryptophan administration, signs characterizing the EEG of drowsiness. Subjective self-rated sleepiness increased after the ingestion of L-tryptophan. Psychomotor performance, assessed by means of various psychometric tests, was not affected by this low dose of L-tryptophan.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of L-Tryptophan on Daytime Arousal

Thorleifsdottir

Björnsson²,

Kjeld³

et al. 1989

Neuropsychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The effects of /-tryptophan on sleep behavior in general show that it acts as a mild hypnotic and tends to decrease sleep latency in insomniacs but not in normal volunteers. In patients, it has been shown that sleep onset can be facilitated in day time and evening hours [18]. Accordingly, we did not observe significant differences on sleep latency and sleep duration between the tryptophan and placebo group, but were able to see an effect in the tryptophan group itself when comparing the sleep parameters at the 2nd, 3rd and 4th week with the baseline data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%

Effects of l-Tryptophan and Various Diets on Behavioral Functions in Essential Hypertensives

et al. 1989

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The effects of tryptophan in combination with two different diets (high-carbohydrate and high-protein diet) on behavioral parameters such as mood, sleep and performance were chronically studied in a group of 34 hypertensive patients undergoing a trial of testing the antihypertensive properties of l-tryptophan. While no major changes in mood were observed, there was a tendency for sleep latency to decrease and sleep duration to increase following tryptophan intake in the intragroup analysis. The administration of tryptophan caused a significant improvement on performance in a concentration task. No significant dietary effects were observed either in combination with tryptophan or in the placebo group. These data again demonstrate behavioral relevance of the precursor amino acid l-tryptophan and suggest a long-term improvement in partial aspects of performance behavior.

show abstract

“…In our earlier study assessing its daytime effectiveness [31], substantial sleep-inducing effects were present on the first day of administration.…”

Section: Ho R O Td U I~~ -----mentioning

confidence: 89%