title: Serotonin receptor subtypes: implications for psychopharmacology.
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.
authors.affiliation: MRC Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, Littlemore Hospital, Oxford.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Cowen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists