Vitamin B6 is one of the water-soluble vitamins in the B-complex. Any portion of this nutrient that your body does not use right away gets diluted and flushed in your urine. In general, the B vitamins help you to grow physically and develop cognitively. In particular, vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, contributes to the health of your nervous system. Do not take vitamin B6 supplements unless your doctor recommends it.
Neurotransmitters
Vitamin B6 appears in three different forms. The type most important for the nervous system, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, is the coenzyme pyridoxal 5'-phosphate -- or PLP for short. PLP is necessary for transforming amino acids into neurotransmitters, chemicals that make it possible for your nerve cells to communicate. As impulses reach the end of a nerve fiber, the nerve cell releases the neurotransmitter into the space between itself and the next cell. This gap is called a synapse. The neurotransmitter travels through the synapse to the next nerve cell. There, it transfers the information from the cell that released it to the one receiving it. Serotonin and dopamine are two neurotransmitters PLP helps to produce.
Nerve Impulses
Baby formula is enriched with vitamin B6 to give adequate nourishment to developing infants. The Linus Pauling Institute reports that an error in the manufacturing of a formula in the 1950s caused babies to have low levels of vitamin B6. As a result, they suffered seizures, which occur when the electrical activity -- nerve impulses -- in the nervous system becomes abnormal.
Motor Function
According to MedlinePlus, it is possible that vitamin B6 supplementation can help individuals who develop a neurological condition known as tardive dyskinesia as a side effect of psychiatric medicine. Prolonged use of the drugs affects your nervous system, making parts of your body move involuntarily and repetitively when you develop tardive dyskinesia.
Intake
The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine establishes daily intakes for vitamin B6 that vary according to age and, sometimes, based on gender. Babies up to 6 months of age need 0.1 mg of the nutrient. Between 7 months and 1 year, children thrive on 0.3 mg of vitamin B6. Older kids up to 3 years of age require 0.5 mg every day. Children between 4 and 8 years old need 0.6 mg of vitamin B6. From 9 to 13 years of age, children need 1 mg of vitamin B6 per day. At the age of 14, the intake recommendations change for the different sexes. Teenage boys need 1.3 mg and teenage girls require 1.2 mg of the nutrient. Starting at age 19, adults of both genders should take in 1.3 mg of the vitamin until they turn 51. From that age on, men need 1.7 mg and women 1.5 mg daily.
Food Sources
Your options for meals that provide vitamin B6 include foods that naturally contain the nutrient and manufactured products enriched with the substance. Potatoes, spinach and tomatoes are vegetables that have B6 in their composition. In the legume group, peanuts, soy and garbanzo beans provide B6. If you enjoy meat, your choices include beef, pork, seafood and chicken. Bananas, avocados and sunflower seeds also make the list of B6 food sources. Read the ingredients on breakfast cereal boxes. Some are enriched with this vitamin.
Precautions
Take vitamin B6 supplements if your doctor diagnoses a deficiency. Measure the daily doses as she prescribes or follow the recommended dosage on the product label. Excess vitamin B6 can cause nerve damage in your arms and legs.
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