5-HT receptor

5-HT receptors, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors, or serotonin receptors, are a group of G protein-coupled receptor and ligand-gated ion channels found in multiple tissues including the central and peripheral nervous systems. They mediate both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. The serotonin (i.e., 5-hydroxytryptamine, hence "5-HT") receptors are activated by the neurotransmitter serotonin, which acts as their natural ligand.

The serotonin receptors modulate the release of many neurotransmitters, including glutamate, GABA, dopamine, epinephrine / norepinephrine, and acetylcholine, as well as many hormones, including oxytocin, prolactin, vasopressin, cortisol, corticotropin, and substance P, among others. Serotonin receptors influence various biological and neurological processes such as aggression, anxiety, appetite, cognition, learning, memory, mood, nausea, sleep, and thermoregulation. The serotonin receptors also affect sexual behaviors and increases in serotonin can cause increases of sexual stimulation. They are the target of a variety of pharmaceutical and recreational drugs, including many antidepressants, antipsychotics, anorectics, antiemetics, gastroprokinetic agents, antimigraine agents, psychedelics (hallucinogens), and entactogens. In cases of certain recreational drugs, such as crack cocaine, their use has been shown to negatively impact the response of 5HT receptors in the brain.

Serotonin receptors are found in almost all animals and are even known to regulate longevity and behavioural aging in the primitive nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans.