Library · Molecule
Melatonin
Make it clearer
Melatonin is a hormone, and it is made mainly in one specific place: the pineal gland, in the center of the brain.
It is built in steps. It starts with tryptophan, an amino acid that comes from food and is first converted into serotonin. Inside the pineal gland, an enzyme called AA-NAT carries out the key step, the one that sets the pace of the whole process, and melatonin is what comes out.
The order to make it does not come from the pineal gland. It comes from the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the brain's clock, and travels down through the sympathetic nervous system to a relay in the neck, the superior cervical ganglion, which is what innervates the gland. It is an order that travels down a wire from the clock to the gland.
Melatonin latches onto its MT1 and MT2 receptors: it promotes sleep and switches off the signals that keep us awake.
In brief
Melatonin is a hormone made and released mainly by the pineal gland.
It starts from tryptophan, which becomes serotonin; in the pineal gland, the rate-limiting enzyme AA-NAT drives the step that leads to melatonin.
The signal comes from the suprachiasmatic nucleus through the sympathetic nervous system, by way of the superior cervical ganglion, which innervates the pineal gland.
An order that travels down a wire from the clock to the gland.
It acts at its MT1 and MT2 receptors, promoting sleep and inhibiting the signals that keep you awake.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingMelatonin, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated