Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36195339›Full record

Trial reportJournal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN

Acute tryptophan depletion balances altered resting-state functional connectivity of the salience network in female patients recovered from anorexia nervosa.

Ilka Boehm, Julius Hennig, Franziska Ritschel, Daniel Geisler, Joseph A King, Isabel Lesch, Veit Roessner, Florian Daniel Zepf, Stefan Ehrlich

Open access · diamondAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Recovery From Anorexia Nervosa: A Concept Analysis.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Ilka BoehmFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich).
Julius HennigFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich).
Franziska RitschelFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich).
Daniel GeislerFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich).
Joseph A KingFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich).
Isabel LeschFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich).
Veit RoessnerFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich).
Florian Daniel ZepfFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich).
Stefan EhrlichFrom the Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Boehm, Hennig, Ritschel, Geisler, King, Lesch, Ehrlich); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Roessner); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (Zepf); the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Centre, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Ehrlich) transden.lab@uniklinikum-dresden.de.
Friedrich Schiller University Jena · DEJena University Hospital · DETU Dresden · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIt has been suggested that individuals predisposed to or recovered from anorexia nervosa experience a hyperserotonergic state associated with anxiety that might be mitigated by restricted food intake, because diminished levels of the tryptophan precursor lower the central availability of serotonin (5-HT). At the neural level, the salience network is a system of functionally connected brain regions; it has been closely associated with 5-HT functioning and mental disorders (including anorexia nervosa). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect on the salience network of a temporary dietary manipulation of 5-HT synthesis in patients with anorexia nervosa.

methodsIn this double-blind crossover study, we obtained data on resting-state functional connectivity from 22 weight-recovered female patients with a history of anorexia nervosa, and 22 age-matched female healthy controls. The study procedure included acute tryptophan depletion (a dietary intervention that lowers the central 5-HT synthesis rate) and a sham condition.

resultsWe identified an interaction of group and experimental condition in resting-state functional connectivity between the salience network and the orbitofrontal cortex extending to the frontal pole ( LIMITATIONS: The effect of acute tryptophan depletion on the central availability of 5-HT can be judged only indirectly using plasma ratios of tryptophan to large neutral amino acids. Moreover, the definition of anorexia nervosa recovery varies widely across studies, limiting comparability.

conclusionTaken together, our findings support the notion of 5-HT dysregulation in anorexia nervosa and indicate that reduced 5-HT synthesis and availability during acute tryptophan depletion (and possibly with food restriction) may balance hyperserotonergic functioning and the associated resting-state functional connectivity of the salience network.

Indexed as

Amino Acids, NeutralAnorexia NervosaBrain MappingCross-Over StudiesDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingNeural PathwaysSerotoninTryptophanAmino Acids, NeutralSerotoninTryptophan

Identifiers

PMID36195339
PMCPMC9533767
OpenAlexW4301395275

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.