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Mental fatigue-induced decrease in levels of several plasma amino acids

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Summary.

To investigate the relation between plasma amino acid levels and mental fatigue, we measured the plasma concentrations of 20 amino acids in 9 healthy volunteers before and after a fatigue-inducing mental task session for 8 hr. As fatigue-inducing mental tasks, the subjects performed an advanced trail making test, a Japanese KANA pick up test, and a mirror drawing test. As a control, 8-hr relaxation session was performed in the same subjects at an interval of 4 weeks. Immediately after the fatigue session, the plasma levels of branched-chain amino acids, tyrosine, cysteine, methionine, lysine, and arginine were below those after a relaxation session. The values for other blood parameters including total protein, albumin, glucose, and total cholesterol did not show any differences between the 2 sessions. These results indicate that mental fatigue may be characterized by a decrease in the plasma level of these amino acids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan

    K. Mizuno, M. Tanaka, S. Nozaki, K. Yamaguti, H. Mizuma, T. Sasabe, Y. Kataoka & Y. Watanabe

  2. The 21st Century COE Program “Base to Overcome Fatigue” (from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Japanese Government), Osaka, Japan

    K. Mizuno, M. Tanaka, S. Nozaki, K. Yamaguti, Y. Kataoka & Y. Watanabe

  3. Department of Oral Physiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka, Japan

    T. Sasabe

  4. Soiken Incorporation, Osaka, Japan

    T. Sugino, T. Shirai, Y. Kajimoto & O. Kajimoto

  5. Department of Health Science, Faculty of Health Science for Welfare, Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, Osaka, Japan

    H. Kuratsune

  6. Center for Health Care, Osaka University of Foreign Study, Osaka, Japan

    O. Kajimoto

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  1. K. Mizuno
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  2. M. Tanaka
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  3. S. Nozaki
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  5. H. Mizuma
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  8. T. Shirai
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  9. Y. Kataoka
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  13. Y. Watanabe
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Mizuno, K., Tanaka, M., Nozaki, S. et al. Mental fatigue-induced decrease in levels of several plasma amino acids. J Neural Transm 114, 555–561 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-006-0608-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-006-0608-1

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