Comment by austin-cheney

1) Serotonin reception explained - https://balancewomenshealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/T...

2) Serotonin and ADHD - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25684070/

3) Dopamine cycle explained in context of ADHD - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2626918/

4) ADHD and sugar explained - https://www.verywellmind.com/the-sugar-and-adhd-relationship...

5) ADHD and sugar study - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3133757/

That last one mentioned coloring agents multiple times. Different research has show artificial colors, as derived from petro-chemical processing like reds and yellows, are strongly linked with neurotransmitter disruption in all people, but the effect is an order of magnitude more significant in high risk children.

I really dislike the neurotransmitter discussions because they do not differentiate between "free" or "in-transit" neurotransmitter levels vs. "stored" or "awaiting dispatch" neurotransmitter levels vs. "receptor sites" or "available destinations" for neurotransmitters vs. "receptor activation effect" or "destination's response on delivery." That doesn't even get into the complexity of different types of receptor sites or their roles in all the different bodily systems and organs. It leads for utterly confounding conversations without strictly delineating what everyone knows and/or assumes about the topic at hand.

So, here is my quick and slipshod armchair theorizing: serum serotonin levels may be a predictor of ADHD due serotonin's role in activating certain autoreceptors that mediate dopamine release.

Does serotonin deficit mediate susceptibility to ADHD?: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01970...

Is there an Effect of Serotonin on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?: https://repository.unair.ac.id/106894/1/Is%20There%20an%20Ef...