Dopamine is a hormone that is released from the adrenal gland which is controlled by the medulla. It is known that dopamine has a catechol structure (a benzene ring with two hydroxyl side groups) with one amine group attached via an ethyl chain. Dopamine is part of the catecholamine family, which is a type of a neurotransmitter composed of catechol and a side-chain amine. The process of dopamine synthesis starts with the amino acid phenylalanine going through several processing steps, involving tyrosine and DOPA (dihydroxyphenylalanine) as intermediates before finally forming dopamine .