Serotoninergic system and its implications on physical exercise

Abstract

There are two major aspects focused in the present work. The first one concerns the tryptophan: a cerebral serotonin precursor aminoacid that alters serotonin and its relation to the offer of nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and aminoacids). As an essential aminoacid it can be modulated through diet, having its physiological and behavioral effects changed, as it can be learned in the present study. The second aspect is related to the precocious fatigue during sports and activities of short and long duration and its relation with the serotoninergic cerebral function. What causes this precocious fatigue and how it is developed is yet largely unknown. The present work reviews the mechanism involved in the "central fatigue hypothesis" and the offer of carbohydrates and aminoacids as a strategy to retard this effect during physical activity.