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Control of dorsal raphé 5-HT function by multiple 5-HT(1) autoreceptors: parallel purposes or pointless plurality?
J A Stamford1, C Davidson, D P McLaughlin
1Neurotransmission Laboratory, Academic Dept of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, The Royal London and St Bartholomew's School of Medicine and Dentistry, Alexandra Wing, Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, E1 1BB, London, UK.
Abstract:
The serotonergic cells of the dorsal raphé nucleus innervate much of the forebrain and are thought to be involved in the mechanism of action of antidepressants. Dysfunction of these cells might be involved in the neural mechanisms underlying depression and suicide. The traffic in pathways emanating from the dorsal raphé nucleus is controlled by 5-HT(1) autoreceptors. Until recently it was thought that the autoreceptors in the dorsal raphé nucleus were solely of the 5-HT(1A) subtype. In this article, we discuss evidence that the situation is more complex and that multiple 5-HT(1) subtypes govern different aspects of 5-HT function in the dorsal raphé nucleus presenting new therapeutic opportunities.