Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface: Focus on the serotonin transporter
- 1 Presynaptic adaptive responses to constitutive versus adult pharmacologic inhibition of serotonin uptake
- 2 Cellular and molecular alterations in animal models of serotonin transporter disruption: a comparison between developmental and adult stages
- 3 Developmental roles for the serotonin transporter
- 4 SERT models of emotional dysregulation
- 5 The serotonin transporter and animal models of depression
- 6 The serotonin transporter knock-out rat: a review
- 7 Wistar–Zagreb 5HT rats: a rodent model with constitutional upregulation/downregulation of serotonin transporter
- 8 The role of the serotonin transporter in reward mechanisms
- 9 Modeling SERT × BDNF interactions in brain disorders: single BDNF gene allele exacerbates brain monoamine deficiencies and increases stress abnormalities in serotonin transporter knock-out mice
- 10 Primate models in serotonin transporter research
- 11 The role of serotonin transporter in modeling psychiatric disorders: focus on depression, emotion regulation, and the social brain
- Index
- Plate section
Preface: Focus on the serotonin transporter
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface: Focus on the serotonin transporter
- 1 Presynaptic adaptive responses to constitutive versus adult pharmacologic inhibition of serotonin uptake
- 2 Cellular and molecular alterations in animal models of serotonin transporter disruption: a comparison between developmental and adult stages
- 3 Developmental roles for the serotonin transporter
- 4 SERT models of emotional dysregulation
- 5 The serotonin transporter and animal models of depression
- 6 The serotonin transporter knock-out rat: a review
- 7 Wistar–Zagreb 5HT rats: a rodent model with constitutional upregulation/downregulation of serotonin transporter
- 8 The role of the serotonin transporter in reward mechanisms
- 9 Modeling SERT × BDNF interactions in brain disorders: single BDNF gene allele exacerbates brain monoamine deficiencies and increases stress abnormalities in serotonin transporter knock-out mice
- 10 Primate models in serotonin transporter research
- 11 The role of serotonin transporter in modeling psychiatric disorders: focus on depression, emotion regulation, and the social brain
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
The serotonin transporter (SERT) has gained research popularity due to its prominent role in normal and aberrant brain processes. This key brain protein reuptakes serotonin from the synaptic cleft into presynaptic neurons, thereby modulating serotonergic neurotransmission. An entire class of psychotropic drugs, the serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs), is dedicated to the action of this single protein. The fact that selective SRIs are becoming the world's most prescribed psychotropic medication emphasizes the utmost importance of SERT research for clinical psychiatry. The growing body of knowledge on SERT's role in the brain also emphasizes the need for experimental models of SERT function. Collectively, this has stimulated the compilation of this book, the aim of which is to provide a comprehensive update spanning the breadth of SERT research from animal models to their clinical parallels.
Although the exact functional mechanisms of SERT are not yet fully elucidated, it is thought to contain 12 hydrophobic transmembrane domains and to bind Na+, Cl−, and serotonin simultaneously. This results in a conformational change in the molecule, forming a barrier against the exterior of the cell, and opens the protein inwardly to the cytoplasmic membrane. The serotonin then disassociates from SERT, and the transporter returns to its original conformation receptive to extracellular serotonin once again. This process is the main mechanism of serotonin modulation in the brain, and the dysregulation of this system can affect brain and behavior markedly.
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- Experimental Models in Serotonin Transporter Research , pp. ix - xiiPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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