Serotonin
Serotonin (5-HT) is a vasoactive amine that acts both as a neurotransmitter and a local signal in inflammation
- role in central nervous system
- role in peripheral nervous system
- receptors and signaling
- role in disease
Role in Central Nervous System
- acts as both an excitatory or inhibitory neurotransmitter
- cell bodies in raphe nuclei in reticular formation in midbrain and pons
- diffuse connections across entire brain
- appear to mediate sleep-wake cycles and different stages of sleep
- implicated in control of mood and emotional behaviour
Role in the Peripheral Nervous System
- produced, stored, and released by platelets following aggregation or stimulation by platelet activating factor
- inflammatory effects similar to histamine, causing arteriole dilation and increasing venule permeability
- produced by enterochromaffin cells in the pancreas
Receptors and Signaling
- many hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD, appear to interact with serotonergic systems
Role in Disease
- involved in depression, obsessive compulsive disorder
odanestron antagonises emetic signals, used as anti-nausea