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Effect of Tyrosine Supplementation on Cognitive Performance and Mood During Military Stress

NCT01913925 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 80

Last updated 2020-11-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The objective of this research is to determine if tyrosine, an amino acid found in protein-containing foods, will mitigate the cognitive deficits and adverse effects on behavior and mood produced by exposure to military stress. This study was conducted at the US Navy Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape (SERE) school at Brunswick, Maine (ME).

Tyrosine is the dietary precursor of the catecholamine norepinephrine, a key brain neurotransmitter that is critical for the central nervous system (CNS) response to various types of acute stress. Psychological stress increases catecholamine turnover in the brain, increasing the requirement for tyrosine to support synthesis of norepinephrine. Animal and human studies have shown that tyrosine supplementation can produce beneficial effects on cognitive and physiological functions during exposure to a variety of acute stressors.

This project will determine if volunteers treated with supplemental tyrosine during stressful phases of SERE training experience less degradation in cognitive performance and mood than volunteers treated with placebo. Tyrosine or placebo will be administered in a specially developed food bar provided to volunteers. The bar is part of a prototype of ration-component designed for use during assault operations. A between-subjects, double blind experimental design will be employed. Tyrosine, an amino acid found in most protein-containing foods, has been tested in hundreds of volunteers without adverse effects.

Approximately 100 volunteers will be recruited from several SERE classes to ensure up to 80 volunteers complete the study. They will be tested during several portions of SERE. A comprehensive but brief battery of cognitive tests, as well as saliva samples, and heart rate data will be collected in a manner that does not interfere with ongoing training.

Hypotheses:

1. Exposure to the stressors of SERE school will adversely impact cognitive performance and mood of volunteers.
2. The adverse effects of psychological stress on cognitive performance and mood during SERE school will be reduced when volunteers are given supplemental tyrosine compared to placebo treatment.

Conditions

  • Reaction to Severe Stress, Unspecified

Interventions

OTHER

Tyrosine-Containing Food Bar

OTHER

Placebo Bar

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

    lead FED

Principal Investigators

  • Harris R. Lieberman, PhD · United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
39 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2009-07-31
Primary Completion
2009-10-31
Completion
2009-10-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01913925 on ClinicalTrials.gov