Nutritional Control of Central Neurotransmitters

Abstract

Some of the changes in plasma composition which follow eating (e.g., those in the concentrations of the neutral amino acids and of choline) can have important secondary effects on the nervous system, modulating both the rates at which particular neurons convert nutrients to neurotransmitters, and the quantities of neurotransmitters released when the neurons fire (Wurtman 1982; Wurtman et al. 1980). Moreover, these effects can be amplified by administering the nutrients in pure form, as though they were drugs (Wurtman 1982; Wurtman et al. 1980) and, in the case of amino acids, by mixing them with carbohydrates (Mauron and Wurtman 1982).