ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes data concerning the pharmacological characteristics and possible functional correlates of central 5-hydroxytryptamine (HT) receptors, and discusses the potential clinical significance of each 5-HT receptor subtype. Recent clinical investigations have focused on the ability of selective agents to act as human anxiolytics. Buspirone is the first pharmacological agent in this class of drugs to be approved for human use. The recent work of Sanders-Bush and colleagues has convincingly demonstrated that 5-HT stimulation of phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis is mediated by the 5-HT1C site in choroid plexus membranes. The existence of a variety of other 5-HT receptor subtypes has been hypothesized, as well. In general, the feature that distinguishes the following sites from the foregoing receptors is that they have only been identified in a single laboratory.
