Biochemistry of ADHD - serotonin

Professor Philip Shaw discusses the relationship between serotonin and ADHD.

Lots of other chemicals have been implicated in ADHD. Amongst them are serotonin - another important family of neurotransmitters in the brain. People have found that if you have variants of some of the receptors for serotonin in the brain, then that increases your risk of having ADHD. Other people have found that if you have certain variations of the enzymes which build serotonin up from its basic building block, which is tryptophan, or certain variations of the enzymes which break it down into its waste products, then that also increases your risk for ADHD. So it’s an interesting example the serotonin neurotransmitter, in that people have been looking at genetic variation at every step of this neurotransmitter, from the very basic building blocks to the waste products, and how genetic variation at every single step and at all of the receptors that serotonin uses might influence your risk for ADHD.