Psychopharmacology of central serotonergic systems
Abstract
Serotonin neurons in the rostral and caudal brainstem raphe nuclear groups give rise to collateralized ascending and descending projections which provide modulatory input into most networks throughout the entire neuraxis. The rostral raphe system is interconnected with target forebrain areas through reciprocal limbic-midbrain loops, which suggests that serotonin has a role in the regulation of complex intelligent adaptive behavior. Serotonergic pathways sensitize brainstem and spinal cord central rhythmic pattern generators which organize repetitive autonomic and motor activities, e.g. oral-buccal and nutritive behaviors, facilitate tonically active motor neurons innervating antigravity muscles, and disfacilitate somatosensory information processing. Serotonin effects are mediated by multiple receptor subtypes with distinct pre- and postsynaptic localization and regional distribution pattern. They belong to the G protein superfamily, coupling to adenylate cyclase (5-HT1,4,5,6,7) or phospholipase C (5-HT2), and to the ligand-gated ion channel superfamily (5-HT3). Drugs acting at these receptors are known to modulate various aspects of cooperative social behavior and responding latency, i.e. impulsivity, in a variety of experimen...Continue Reading
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