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serotonin

A Dictionary of Psychology

serotonin n. A biogenic amine that is a powerful vasoconstrictor and one of the major neurotransmitter substances in the central nervous system, originating mainly in raphe nuclei of the brainstem, the area postrema, and locus coeruleus, and that is involved in arousal, attention, NREM sleep, and, above all, mood—depression and suicide often being associated with low serotonin levels. It is synthesized in the brain from its precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (obtained from dietary tryptophan), an amino acid that, unlike serotonin itself, is able to cross the blood-brain barrier, and it generates the metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. Formula: HOC₈H₅NCH₂CH₂NH₂. Also called 5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT. See also parachlorophenylalanine, Prozac, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, serotonergic, tricyclic antidepressant, tryptophan hydroxylase.[From serum the liquid portion of blood, from Latin serum whey + Greek tonos tone, so called because of its constricting effect on blood vessels]

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© A Dictionary of Psychology 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001.

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