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Serotonin Receptor Subtypes: Implications for Psychopharmacology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2018

P. J. Cowen
P. J. Cowen*
Affiliation:
MRC Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, and University Department of Psychiatry, Littlemore Hospital, Oxford OX4 4XN
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Abstract

Serotonin (5-HT) interacts with multiple brain 5-HT receptor subtypes to influence a wide range of behaviours. Three main families of 5-HT receptors (5-HT1, 5-HT2 and 5-HT3) have been described which differ in their binding affinity for selective ligands, their receptor-effector coupling mechanisms, and the behavioural processes they regulate. Nevertheless, manipulation of several different 5-HT receptor subtypes (5-HT1A, 5-HT1c, 5-HT2 and 5-HT3) may produce anxiolytic effects; 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors may be involved in the aetiology of major depression and the therapeutic effects of antidepressant treatment; and 5-HT3 receptors have been linked to reward mechanisms and cognitive processes. These advances offer therapeutic possibilities, the value of which can only be satisfactorily assessed by controlled clinical trials.

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Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 159 , Issue S12: Anxiety and Serotonin , September 1991 , pp. 7 - 14
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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