serotonin
Americannoun
noun
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Etymology
Origin of serotonin
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Explanation
Serotonin is a chemical in the human body known as the “feel-good chemical.” It helps regulate things like mood, sleep, and appetite. Some of it is in your brain but most of it is in your gut. Serotonin helps cells talk to each other. As serotonin has been studied by scientists over the years, it's become clear how important it is for helping people avoid depression and anxiety. With enough serotonin in your brain, you're able to sleep soundly, learn new things, and remember things clearly. Serotonin also helps with digestion, blood clotting, and bone density. Doctors first discovered serotonin in the 1940s.
Example Sentences
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In some organoids derived from patients, the medication increased proteins involved in serotonin signaling and communication between brain cells.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Using induced pluripotent stem cells from people with Alzheimer's disease and healthy individuals, the team created hindbrain organoids containing specialized brain cells, or neurons, that produce the neurotransmitter serotonin.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
But by increasing blood flow, reducing muscle stiffness and increasing serotonin, a hard massage can take on “some components of travel fatigue,” Katzenback said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Taken together, the findings published since 2023 make serotonin signaling a more plausible contributor to heart valve remodeling.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
The second stage, attraction, is governed by dopamine and serotonin.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
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The presence of this person makes you release all kinds of substances in your brain, serotonins and endorphins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.