BioCentury
ARTICLE | Cover Story

Revoking serotonin's auto license

February 4, 2010 8:00 AM UTC

Although the majority of marketed antidepressants are designed to boost low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain-a well-known cause of depression-only a third of patients actually respond to the first drug they are given. American and French researchers have now identified a receptor on the serotonin-producing neurons themselves that may be at the root of resistance to serotonin-boosting treatments.1

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first-line therapies in both depression and anxiety. SSRIs prevent uptake of serotonin into presynaptic neurons, thereby increasing extracellular levels of the neurotransmitter and enhancing the activity of serotonin (5-HT1A) receptor (HTR1A)-expressing neurons throughout the brain...