Definition of
serotonin
The serotonin it’s a monoamine neurotransmitter which is in the organism humans, animals, plants and fungi. To understand what the concept refers to, we must be clear about certain issues.
The neurotransmittersalso known as neuromediatorsare biomolecules that are responsible for sending data from one neuron to another through the synapse. Biomolecules are the molecules that constitute living beings; neurons, cells found in the nervous system.
When a neurotransmitter harbors a amino group linked, through a chain of a pair of carbons, to an aromatic ring, it is called monoamine neurotransmitter. He amino groupfor its part, is of a functional type and derives from ammonia or one of its derivatives from the alkyl group due to the loss of one of the atoms of hydrogen.
As can be seen, a correct understanding of what we call serotonin requires knowledge about chemistry. Summarizing everything said in the previous lines, we can say that serotonin is a biomolecule that works as a neurotransmitter since it sends information between one neuron and another.
In the case of people, serotonin is synthesized in neurons of the Central Nervous System or in cells of the digestive tract. This biomolecule plays an important role in the inhibition and regulation of dreamhe appetitehe sexual desirethe body temperature and the gonnaFor example.
This means that various emotional states of the human beingas the anxietythe distress or the fearare linked to the levels of serotonin present in the body.
The depression It is another of the ills that seem to be closely linked to serotonin, although scientists have not been able to clearly establish whether a deficit of the latter is what produces it or if, on the contrary, it is depression itself that causes this decrease. . One of the theories is that this disorder arises as a result of a hormonal imbalance.
One of the obstacles to answer this question and to determine once and for all the true causes of depression and its relationship with serotonin is the impossibility of measuring the levels of this neurotransmitter in the brain. brain, something that science has managed to carry out in the bloodstream. To further complicate the situation, researchers also don’t know for sure whether serotonin values in the blood reflect those in the brain.
Despite the lack of clarity on the issues surrounding serotonin and depression, it is believed that certain medications, such as the so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors either SSRIsare able to alleviate the typical symptoms associated with depression. One of the most famous drugs that performs this same function is Prozac.
As a curious fact, it is known that serotonin levels in the blood are variable; when evening comes, they increase and stay high until the beginning of the next day. Besides, men earn 50% more than womenand this explains why they have a greater sensitivity to changes in this neurotransmitter in the blood, which also seems to be linked to the appearance of Premenstrual Syndrome and Postpartum Depression, when the levels they’re short.
Other complications that are associated with low levels of serotonin in the blood are, in the case of those who suffer from fibromyalgia, a state of depression, problems falling asleep, and muscle pain. Since the human being needs amino acid Tryptophan to carry out the synthesis of serotonin, it is important to have a diet that allows us to manufacture it; Some ideal foods for this are soybeans and nuts.