Is the sweetened drinks making us more anxious? It's a possibility that's worth investigating further after seeing the effects of artificial sweetener on mice.
Aspartame was approved by the FDA in 1981 and is used in a wide range of food and drinks. It's found in almost 5,000 different products.
When a sample of mice were given free access to water that was equivalent to 15 percent of the FDA's maximum daily amount for humans, they displayed more anxious behavior.
The effects could be seen in the offspring for up to two generations.
"What this study is showing is we need to look back at the environmental factors, because what we see today is not only what's happening today, but what happened two generations ago and maybe even longer."
Several generations of mice were tested on mazes to measure anxiety. The researchers were able to see how the tissue's genes were being expressed with the help of the research. Changes in the amygdala are associated with the regulation of anxiety.
The central nervous system can be affected by aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol, which can all be found in aspartic acid. Questions have been raised over the possible adverse reactions to the sweetener.
When the mice were given a dose of Valium, their anxiety-like behaviors stopped. The same pathways in the brain that are altered by the effects of aspartame are regulated by the medication.
The researchers observed changes in animal behavior, which they linked to changes in gene activity, despite the fact that monitoring for anxiety-like behaviors in mice is merely an approximation of similar moods in humans.
Sara Jones is a graduate research assistant at Florida State University. It was totally unforeseen. It's usually subtle changes.
The effects of nicotine on mouse behavior can be passed down the generations due to non-coding epigenetic changes in the genes of mouse sperm cells.
The team thinks that something could be happening here. It's not just those who consume the artificial sweetener who may be at risk, but also their children and their children's children. Epigenetic markings can indeed remain intact across many generations, but how that might happen is not fully understood.
Other animal studies have found no change in anxiety-like behavior in rats given artificial sweeteners, suggesting more work is needed to understand what's happening.
Jones, Bhide and colleagues are cautioning. Artificial sweeteners have been linked to cancer in the past, and changes in the gutbacteria can lead to diabetes.
Having signs of anxiety in mice is a good reason to investigate further.
The researchers wrote in their paper that they found that people who consumed less than the FDA's maximum daily intake of aspartame had changes in their brain chemistry.
The current expectations of the human population at risk of mental health effects may be too low.
The research was published in a journal.
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