Serotonin: 6 effects of this hormone on your body and mind

The human brain secretes the hormone serotonin to fulfill different bodily functions.

The human brain is an organ of such complexity that inside it there are thousands of chemical substances interacting so that we can experience things and perceive reality as we do.

Our behavior has biological bases that have a decisive influence on us, and among these biological factors that make us the way we are are are substances such as serotonin.. Let's see what makes this hormone so special, and how it influences our brain.

Serotonin: what effects does this hormone have on your body and mind?

Some of these substances can only be found in certain types of cells and have very specific functions (so much so that many of them have yet to be discovered), but others act both in and outside the brain. This is the case, for example, of serotonin, also known as 5-HT.

5-HT is deeply integrated into the functioning of the human body and learning all its functions by heart can be very intricate. However, in this summary you can learn six of the main effects that serotonin has on the human body.

1. It plays a fundamental role in digestion

Serotonin is a substance that behaves like a hormone in the Blood and acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. That is to say, serotonin is one of the units of communication that neurons capture and emit to influence each other, creating dynamics of brain activation and chain effects. Thus, serotonin favors the crossing of information between neurons and, beyond the brain, serves very different purposes. In fact, the highest concentrations of serotonin are not in the brain, but in the brain. gastrointestinal tract.

It is in the intestines that one of the most important functions of serotonin becomes important: the regulation of digestion. Excessively high levels of serotonin are linked to the onset of diarrhea, while an excessive deficit of this substance can lead to constipation. In addition, serotonin also influences the onset (or it also influences the appearance (or absence) of appetite..

2. Regulates positive and negative moods

Serotonin can be found in large quantities in many parts of the body, and therefore a general imbalance in the production of this substance can have drastic effects on various factors that affect the way we feel and behave..

Specifically, serotonin has been associated for many years with the symptoms of depression, as people with such a disorder tend to have low concentrations of 5-HT in their blood. However, it is not known to what extent it is the serotonin deficit that produces depression or vice versa.

3. Controls the level of body temperature

Among the functions of basic maintenance of the integrity of our body that we associate with serotonin is also the thermal regulation. This is a very delicate balance, because a difference of a few degrees in body temperature can lead to the massive death of large groups of cellular tissues.

Neurons, for example, are particularly sensitive in this respect.

4. Influences sexual desire

A correlation between serotonin levels and sexual libido has been proven. High levels of 5-HT are associated with a lack of sexual desire, while low levels would promote the appearance of behaviors oriented to the satisfaction of this need.

In addition, serotonin also seems to have an effect on the ability we humans have to fall in love and feel love for another person. You can find out in this article:

• "The chemistry of love: a very potent drug".

5. Reduces levels of aggression

Serotonin also serves to stabilize the emotional state human being in stressful situations. Specifically, it serves to inhibit aggression and violent behavior that may result from it. Thus, more impulsive and violent people tend to have lower levels of serotonin acting on key points of the brain than those who are more peaceful.

In addition, this substance gets along particularly badly with testosteronea hormone that, by acting on neurons to make them more insensitive to serotonin, enhances aggressive behavior.

6. Regulates the sleep cycle

Throughout the day, serotonin levels rise and fall following the curves marked by the circadian rhythm, which is the schedule our body follows to know when it is time to sleep and when it is not, and which therefore regulates our sleep and wakefulness. Thus, 5-HT levels tend to reach their maximum during the sunniest times of the day, while during deep sleep they fall to their minimum.

In this way, serotonin production has an influence on regulating our ability to sleep, making it easier or harder to fall asleep. Something similar happens with another substance called melatonin.

Discovering the serotonin excess syndrome

Serotonin is found in all healthy human beings, but too much of it can trigger problems. What happens when our body generates too much serotonin? This is not a trivial question, since there is a pathology associated with this excess of serotonin.

Excessive consumption of drugs against depression (so-called "antidepressants"), which basically stimulate the production of the hormone serotonin, can have a negative effect on our body. You can find out by reading this article, where we explain exactly what this syndrome consists of and what symptoms it presents:

• "Serotonergic syndrome: causes, symptoms and treatment".

Bibliographic references:

• Afifi, A.K. and Bergman, R.A. (1999) Functional Neuroanatomy. McGraw Hill.
• Martin, J.H. (1997). Neuroanatomy. Text and Atlas. Madrid: Prentice Hall.
• Paxinos, G. and Mai, J. (2004). The human nervous system. Academic Press, Inc.
• Valverde, F. (2002). Structure of the cerebral cortex. Intrinsic organization and comparative analysis of the neocortex. Journal of Neurology. 34 (8).