Serotonin and Everyday Social Interaction

University of Groningen

Status and phase

Completed

Early Phase 1

Conditions

Social Behaviour

Treatments

Dietary Supplement: Tryptophan

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT02051569

NL451-09-013 / 2

Details and patient eligibility

About

Rationale: Poor social functioning may contribute to major depressive disorder (MDD). Poor serotonin function may also contribute to MDD. Recent research suggests that serotonin plays a role in regulating human social behaviour. Therefore it would be intriguing to investigate the role of serotonin in regulating the quality of everyday social interactions in a population at risk for MDD. Human social behaviour can be reliably assessed in everyday life using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA).

Objective: This study aims to investigate how an experimental increase in serotonin influences social functioning in healthy adults with a first-degree family member diagnosed with MDD. The primary goal is to investigate the role of serotonin in regulating everyday social behaviour, measured using EMA. This will be done using oral supplementation with tryptophan, the amino acid precursor of serotonin. Secondary goals are to determine how this experimental manipulation influences people's feelings as well as their perceptions of other's social behaviour following interpersonal events, and social cognitions at the end of the day. An exploratory goal is to investigate if these effects are moderated by genes thought to be involved in MDD.

The primary hypothesis to be tested is that tryptophan will reduce quarrelsome behaviour.

Enrollment

40 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 65 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Age 18-65 years
At least one first-degree family member with MDD
Willingness to cooperate; to sign written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Any current or past MDD or other mood disorder as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (SCID)
Any current anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder, substance use disorder, eating disorder, or somatoform disorder as determined by SCID
Any contraindication for the use of tryptophan, i.e. pregnancy, diabetes, cancer or a history of cancer, a history of any scleroderma-like condition, evidence of achlorhydria, upper bowel malabsorption, or irritation of the urinary bladder
Current use of psychotropic medications including medications for psychiatric problems (e.g., antidepressants such as Mono Amine Oxidase inhibitors and fluoxetine) or migraines
Not speaking Dutch fluently