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monoamine oxidase

monoamine oxidase

5.8
A substance in the body that breaks down brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine
  • noun
  • /ˌmɒnəʊəˈmiːn ˈɒksɪdeɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : monoaminooxidasa
  • A form of monoamine oxidase called type B is particularly related to sensation-seeking and to the regulation of dopamine.
  • monoamine oxidase inhibitors

Examples

  • Regarding treatment type, we found that the group treated with SNRIs had the highest prevalence of dropout, followed by those treated with monoamine oxidase inhibitors, TCAs, and SSRIs.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Deprenyl inhibits monoamine oxidase, a substance present in many different body cells and one that breaks down dopamine.

  • For the single drug group using monoamine oxidase inhibitors, the dropout prevalence was 30% (95% CI, 25-36).

    Academic text (2016)
  • Now those tryptamines are taken through the nose because they are orally inactive, as they are denatured by an enzyme found naturally in the human stomach, monoamine oxidase.

    Blog text (31)
  • The enzyme monoamine oxidase is low in high-sensation seekers, implying a lack of regulation.

Synonyms

MAO
vsmonoamine oxidase
  • Specialized
6.9

A protein in the brain that breaks down mood chemicals like serotonin

is the full formal term rather than the abbreviated form

Surface Forms

Morphology

monoamine + oxidase

The compound is fully compositional: 'monoamine' names the substrate class and 'oxidase' names an enzyme that oxidizes substrates, so the meaning 'an enzyme that oxidizes monoamines' is directly derivable from the parts. Although technical, the morphological combination follows regular scientific naming patterns (and parallels in many languages), so a learner who knows both constituents would understand the MWE.

Etymology

Monoamine oxidase comes from the parts of the word: mono means 'one', amine is 'a kind of chemical', and oxidase is 'an enzyme that uses oxygen to break things down'. So the name describes an enzyme that breaks down certain brain chemicals, like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, which is why it helps control their levels.