ABSTRACT
First purified from blood and named in 1948 (1), serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) has a wide range of effects including cardiovascular regulation and intestinal motility outside the brain, and within the brain it modulates: respiration, thermoregulation, circadian rhythm entrainment, sleep-wake cycle, appetite, aggression, mood, sexual behavior, sensorimotor reactivity, pain sensitivity, and learning (2). Dysfunction of the serotonergic system is thought to play a role in a variety of psychiatric disorders including mood disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, and Alzheimer’s dementia (2). This chapter outlines research findings that provide the basis for our current understandings of the role of serotonin in bipolar disorder.
