ABSTRACT
Prior to the approval of aspartame as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration, the question had been raised whether the ingestion of aspartame, either alone or together with glutamate, posed a risk of contributing undesirable effects on neuroendocrine regulatory systems. Rats were always killed at the same time of day to avoid possible circadian influences; however, it is well known in chronobiology that such a procedure is ineffective for this purpose. Diametrically opposite results could have been obtained if the animals were killed at a different phase of the circadian system. There should be little question that a critical test of any adverse effect of chronic aspartame use on somatosexual development, as hypothesized by Olney, would be an assessment of reproductive performance. The discussion addressed Olney’s hypothesis of possible effects on neuroendocrine regulatory systems that might result from subneurotoxic plasma levels of aspartate.
