LAUSR

The hippocampus is a major component of the CNS, belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory as well as in spatial memory. Neurons in the hippocampus receive a strong serotonergic projection from the raphe nuclei and the majority of 5-HT receptor subtypes are expressed there: they can have either complementary or opposing effects on cell function, adding to the complexity of 5-HT neurotransmission. Indeed, the hippocampus plays an important role in emotional and cognitive processing, and both of these domains are affected in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) [5]. Among the molecular, cellular, and systemic events that have been proposed to modulate the function of the hippocampus one of the most frequently cited possibilities is the activation of the serotonergic system [6]. Several preclinical research and clinical observations that modulation of serotonin (5HT) neurotransmission plays a key role in the therapeutic efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on MDD support the assumption that 5-HT is important for hippocampal function in normal and disease-like conditions [5]. Neurons in the hippocampus receive a strong serotonergic projection from the raphe nuclei and the majority of 5-HT receptor subtypes are expressed there: they can have either complementary or opposing effects on cell function, adding to the complexity of 5-HT neurotransmission.