Serotonin

"Serotonin: The mediator that spans evolution provides a comprehensive review of the widespread roles for serotonin in respiratory, cardiovascular and thermoregulatory control, and growth and development in early life. This important resource highlights serotonin's role in normal (unstressed) conditions and in response to a variety of physiological stressors. It focuses on new animal models, comparing and contrasting data from mice and rats. It also compares and contrasts physiological effects of brain and blood serotonin systems. Included is new data that suggests the influence of serotonin is in part through the regulation of gene expression--this includes important proteins within the serotonin system itself, as well as proteins in interacting neurotransmitter systems. Finally, it discusses the role of serotonin system dysfunction in a variety of pathophysiological conditions, including sleep apnea, obesity and hypertension; and provides compelling evidence that this dysfunction is involved in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)."--