title: Dietary L-lysine deficiency increases stress-induced anxiety and fecal excretion in rats.
abstract: Little is known about the psychobehavioral consequences of a dietary deficiency of the amino acid, L-lysine. This report demonstrates that a 4-d long L-lysine deficiency in rats interfered with the normal circadian release of the neurotransmitter serotonin, but not dopamine, measured by in vivo microdialysis in the central nucleus of the amygdala. L-Lysine deficiency was induced by feeding rats a L-lysine-deficient diet. Controls were pair-fed a L-lysine-sufficient diet. Footshock stress-induced anxiety, measured in an elevated plus-maze paradigm, and wrap-restraint stress-stimulated fecal excretion were significantly greater in the L-lysine-deficient rats than in the controls. We conclude that a severe deficiency of dietary L-lysine enhances serotonin release in the amygdala, with subsequent changes in psychobehavioral responses to stress.
authors.affiliation: Ajinomoto Company Incorporated, Institute of Life Sciences, 210-8681 Kawasaki, Japan. miroslav_smriga@ajinomoto.com
authors.forename: Miro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smriga
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kameishi
authors.forename: Hisayuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uneyama
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Torii
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003672:Defecation; D004032:Diet; D008239:Lysine / Q000172:deficiency*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D008239:Lysine