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. 2015 Mar 31;11:875–888. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S73261

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© 2015 Saltiel and Silvershein. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License

The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.

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The serotonergic synapse.

Notes: Serotonin (5HT) is produced from tryptophan and packaged into storage vesicles until its release into the synapse. Multiple postsynaptic 5HT receptors interact with 5HT to mediate its signaling and modulate diverse transmitter systems involving 5HT, NE, DA, ACh, GABA, and Glu. Excess 5HT is removed from the synaptic cleft by SERT or degraded to an inactive metabolite 5HIAA by MAO. Presynaptic 5HT_1A and 5HT_1B autoreceptors detect the presence of 5HT in the synapse and shut down further 5HT release, while D2-like dopamine receptors and α1- and α2-adrenoceptors positively (+) or negatively (−) influence 5HT transmissions.

Abbreviations: 5HIAA, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid; 5HT, 5-hydroxytryptamine or serotonin; ACh, acetylcholine; DA, dopamine; GABA, gamma-aminobutyric acid; Glu, glutamate; MAO, monoamine oxidase; NE, norepinephrine; SERT, serotonin transporter.