{"id":39602,"date":"2019-12-06T16:50:57","date_gmt":"2019-12-07T00:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/selfhacked.com\/?p=39602"},"modified":"2021-11-03T02:05:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T09:05:45","slug":"serotonin-deficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selfhacked.com\/blog\/serotonin-deficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"17 Potential Effects of Serotonin Deficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Serotonin is one of the major neurotransmitters in the brain, and is most well-known for its role in mood. But it is also heavily involved in many other important bodily functions, such as digestion! For this reason, low levels of serotonin – or \u201cserotonin deficiency<\/em>\u201d as it is sometimes called – has been associated with a wide range of different potential symptoms related to physical and mental well-being. What are these signs, and how are they related to serotonin? Read on to learn more!<\/p>\n

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<\/a>What Is Serotonin Deficiency?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Serotonin is synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan<\/em> by a short metabolic pathway consisting of two enzymes.<\/p>\n

In the first step, the \u201craw material\u201d (metabolic precursor<\/em>) tryptophan is converted to 5-hydroxytryptophan<\/em> (also known as 5-HTP<\/a>) by the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the second step, 5-HTP is converted to serotonin (5-HT<\/a>) by the enzyme aromatic amino acid decarboxylase<\/em><\/a> [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Serotonin is produced in the platelets of the blood and cells of the gut, and is then distributed throughout the body to exert its effects.<\/p>\n

Serotonin produced outside of the brain cannot directly cross the blood-brain barrier, although tryptophan and 5-HTP can. Therefore, the latter two compounds are what produce serotonin within the brain itself.<\/p>\n

Any disruption of these mechanisms or damage to serotonin receptors can lead to a decrease in overall serotonin effects in the body.<\/p>\n

When serotonin levels are lower than normal, this is known as \u201cserotonin deficiency<\/em>\u201d, and can result in a variety of symptoms including impaired body functions and even psychological disorders [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

You can learn more about serotonin and its effects in this post<\/a>, whereas in this post we\u2019ll be focusing more on the potential causes and consequences of serotonin deficiency.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Potential Causes<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are a very large number of factors involved in the production and action of serotonin throughout the body and brain, which means that there are a very large number of different factors that can potentially play a role in how much serotonin a person has, or how much of it is available to the different biological systems that rely on it.<\/p>\n

So, keeping in mind that this is not a fully exhaustive list, here are a few of the factors that could potentially cause or contribute to low serotonin levels (or reduced serotonin activity):<\/p>\n