Serotonergic nervous system

The **serotonergic nervous system** refers to the network of neurons that synthesize, release, and respond to serotonin, a monoamine neurotransmitter that plays key roles in regulating mood, sleep, appetite, gastrointestinal motility, cognition, cardiovascular function, and pain perception. It encompasses serotonergic cell bodies (mainly within the raphe nuclei of the brainstem), their widespread projections, and all receptors and transporters involved in serotonin signaling throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. Dysfunction in this system is implicated in depression, anxiety, addiction, GI disorders, migraine, and several other conditions; therapeutic drugs act by modulating specific components (especially serotonin receptors and the serotonin transporter), not the entire system.

Other names

serotonergic systemserotonergic pathwayserotonin neurotransmission network

Inhibition of serotonin reuptake (SSRIs, SNRIs); Inhibition of serotonin breakdown (MAOIs); Agonism/antagonism at serotonin receptors (5-HT receptors)