Mood-regulating pathways

Mood-regulating pathways refers collectively to the interconnected networks of neurotransmitters (including serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA, and glutamate) and their receptors in different brain regions that orchestrate emotional stability, arousal, reward, motivation, and stress adaptation[1][2][3][4]. Dysfunction in these pathways is implicated in mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. Most available psychiatric drugs targeting mood disorders act by modulating one or more of these neurotransmitter systems, rather than a single well-defined molecular target. Thus, "mood-regulating pathways" is not the canonical name of a distinct molecular entity, but an umbrella term covering a complex array of neurochemical and molecular targets involved in mental health syndromes[1][4]. This entry should not be used as a molecular target in a structured database of therapeutic targets since it does not correspond to a discrete, actionable entity but reflects integrated neural circuit functions.

Other names

Mood regulation pathwaysEmotional regulation pathwaysMood circuits

Modulation of neurotransmitter systems including serotonin reuptake inhibition, dopamine receptor modulation, norepinephrine reuptake inhibition, GABAergic transmission modulation, and glutamate receptor modulation.