Latest updates on the serotonergic system in depression and anxiety

Jianwen Lin; Wenxin Liu; Jing Guan; Jianing Cui; Ruolin Shi; Lu Wang; Dong Chen; Yi Liu

doi:10.3389/fnsyn.2023.1124112

Latest updates on the serotonergic system in depression and anxiety

Front Synaptic Neurosci. 2023 May 9:15:1124112. doi: 10.3389/fnsyn.2023.1124112. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jianwen Lin^#¹, Wenxin Liu^#^{1

2}, Jing Guan^#^{1

2

3}, Jianing Cui¹, Ruolin Shi², Lu Wang¹, Dong Chen⁴, Yi Liu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Dalian Municipal Central Hospital, Central Hospital of Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China.
² Department of Graduate Studies, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Yingkou Economic and Technological Development Zone Central Hospital, Yingkou, China.
⁴ Department of Neurosurgery, Dalian Municipal Central Hospital, Central Hospital of Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Psychiatric disorders are among the leading causes of global health burden, with depression and anxiety being the most disabling subtypes. The two common disorders, depression and anxiety, usually coexist and are pathologically polygenic with complicated etiologies. Current drug-based therapies include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and 5-hydroxytryptamine partial agonists. However, these modalities share common limitations, such as slow onset and low efficacy, which is why potential mechanistic insights for new drug targets are needed. In this review, we summarize recent advances in brain localization, pathology, and therapeutic mechanisms of the serotonergic system in depression and anxiety.

Keywords: 5-hydroxytryptamine; anti-depressant; anxiety; anxiolytic; depression; serotonin receptor; therapeutic target.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the LiaoNing Revitalization Talents Program (Grant number XLYC 1807083) and the Dalian Science Innovation Project (Grant number 2021JJ13SN64).