The role of medullary serotonin (5-HT) neurons in respiratory control: contributions to eupneic ventilation, CO2 chemoreception, and thermoregulation

Matthew R Hodges; George B Richerson

doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01270.2009

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The role of medullary serotonin (5-HT) neurons in respiratory control: contributions to eupneic ventilation, CO2 chemoreception, and thermoregulation

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The role of medullary serotonin (5-HT) neurons in respiratory control: contributions to eupneic ventilation, CO2 chemoreception, and thermoregulation

Matthew R Hodges and George B Richerson

Journal of applied physiology (1985), Vol.108(5), pp.1425-1432

05/2010

DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01270.2009

PMCID: PMC2867541

PMID: 20133432

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Abstract

The functional roles of the medullary raphé, and specifically 5-HT neurons, are not well understood. It has previously been stated that the role of 5-HT has been so difficult to understand, because "it is implicated in virtually everything, but responsible for nothing"(Cowen PJ. Foreword. In: Serotonin and Sleep: Molecular, Functional and Clinical Aspects, edited by Monti JM, Prandi-Perumal SR, Jacobs BL, Nutt DJ. Switzerland: Birkhauser, 2008). Are 5-HT neurons important, and can we assign a general, or even specific, function to them given their diffuse projections? Recent data obtained from transgenic animals and other model systems indicate that the 5-HT system is not expendable, particularly during postnatal development, and likely plays specific roles in vital functions such as respiratory and thermoregulatory control. We recently provided a detailed and updated review of one specific function of 5-HT neurons, as central respiratory chemoreceptors contributing to the brain's ability to detect changes in pH/CO2 and stimulate adjustments to ventilation accordingly (9). Here, we turn our focus to recent data demonstrating that 5-HT neurons provide an essential excitatory drive to the respiratory network. We then further discuss their role in the CO2 chemoreflex, as well as other homeostatic functions that are closely related to ventilatory control. Last, we provide additional hypotheses/concepts that are worthy of further study, and how 5-HT neurons may be involved in human disease.

Reflex

Hypercapnia - physiopathology

Carbon Dioxide - metabolism

Chemoreceptor Cells - metabolism

Signal Transduction

Pulmonary Ventilation

Respiratory Muscles - innervation

Humans

Body Temperature Regulation

Medulla Oblongata - metabolism

Raphe Nuclei - metabolism

Medulla Oblongata - physiopathology

Animals

Serotonin - metabolism

Neural Pathways - metabolism

Neural Pathways - physiopathology

Respiratory Mechanics

Hypercapnia - metabolism

Details

Title: Subtitle: The role of medullary serotonin (5-HT) neurons in respiratory control: contributions to eupneic ventilation, CO2 chemoreception, and thermoregulation
Creators: Matthew R Hodges - BSB-504, Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA. mhodges@mcw.edu
George B Richerson
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of applied physiology (1985), Vol.108(5), pp.1425-1432
DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01270.2009
PMID: 20133432
PMCID: PMC2867541
NLM abbreviation: J Appl Physiol (1985)
ISSN: 8750-7587
eISSN: 1522-1601
Publisher: United States
Language: English
Date published: 05/2010
Academic Unit: Neurology; Molecular Physiology and Biophysics; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Neurosurgery
Record Identifier: 9984020787802771

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