title: Nutritional tryptophan restriction and the role of serotonin in development and plasticity of central visual connections.
abstract: Tryptophan is an essential amino acid and metabolic precursor of serotonin. Serotonin is both a classical neurotransmitter and a signaling molecule that plays crucial roles in the development of neural circuits and plasticity. The specification of neural circuits in rodents occurs during the postnatal period with conspicuous influence of environmental factors including the nutritional status. Sensory, motor and cognitive systems develop during a critical period, a time window that is crucial to the use-dependent organization of neuronal circuits. This review presents recent experimental findings that disclose some mechanism of tryptophan- and serotonin-dependent plasticity in the developing and adult brain.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neural Plasticity, Neuroscience Program, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Brazil. claudio.serfaty@gmail.com
authors.forename: Claudio A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Serfaty
authors.forename: Priscilla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Oliveira-Silva
authors.forename: Adriana da Cunha
authors.initials: Ada C
authors.lastname: Faria Melibeu
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Campello-Costa
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007228:Infant Nutrition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D012377:Rodentia / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012701:Serotonin / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000172:deficiency*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D014364:Tryptophan