Serotonin and Stress — It's Complicated

Exposure to stress in infant animals leads to enhanced expression of a serotonin receptor gene in adults, a finding that might point the way to new mood and anxiety therapies.

Serotonin (5-HT) transporter polymorphisms may lead to deficient 5-HT neurotransmission, possibly resulting in dysregulated stress responses (see JW Psychiatry Feb 7 2011 and Oct 8 2003). These researchers used adult rats to investigate 5-HT function in persistent, abnormal stress responses resulting from early life stress in infancy. The early life stress was maternal separation (MS), which occurred for 3 hours/day from ages 2 to 14 days.

In the prefrontal cortex of both control and MS-exposed adult rats, immobilization stress induced the immediate early gene Arc, which is regulated by the 5-HT₂ receptor. With repeated immobilization, animals with a normal upbringing habituated to Arc induction; MS-exposed animals did not. In MS-exposed rat…

Reviewing Author

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Serotonin and Stress — It's Complicated

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Reviewing Author