Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is an eating and behavioral disorder characterized with anxiety/depression, hyperactivity, behavioral impulsivity and psychosis. Most of the associated symptoms are related to the deficiency of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine: 5-HT) stores. A deficiency of 5-HT can modulate dopamine neurotransmission in the striatum to elicit hyperactivity and psychosis in AN patients. Also, the release and availability of 5-HT are modulated by serotonin-1A (5-HT1A) auto-receptor. The present study investigates the role of striatal metabolism of 5-HT and dopamine in precipitating hyperactivity in the rat model of diet restriction (DR) induced AN. The role of tryptophan (Trp) in influencing the 5-HT metabolism and the mRNA expression of 5-HT1A auto-receptor is also investigated. We find that long-term DR for 38 days reduces body-weight in rats and produces hyperactivity, similar to AN. This hyperactivity is characterized by declined striatal metabolism of both, dopamine and 5-HT. The mRNA expression of 5-HT1A auto-receptor in the raphe nuclei is also decreased. Trp co-treatment improves these deficiencies in monoamine metabolism and alleviates hyperactivity. Interestingly, DR-induced changes in body-weights are not effected by Trp co-treatment. The study suggests that the striatal metabolism of 5-HT and dopamine and mRNA expression of 5-HT1A auto-receptor has an important role in the pathogenesis of AN. The finding suggests that co-use of Trp can prevent precipitation of AN by normalizing 5-HT metabolism.
Keywords: Anorexia nervosa; diet restriction; dopamine; hyperactivity; serotonin; serptonin-1A autoreceptor; striatum; tryptophan.