HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Azmitia, E. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Azmitia, E. C.

Serotoninergic Chemoreceptive Neurons: A Search for a Shared Function

SUMMARY

When it comes to studying elephants with microscopes, it is helpful, occasionally, to take a few steps back to remind oneself that the whole beast is greater than the sum of its parts. Perhaps the same is true for serotoninergic neurons. In the medulla, serotoninergic neurons function as chemoreceptors. New research indicates that serotoninergic neurons in the midbrain raphe are sensitive to CO₂ concentrations in the blood. Severson and colleagues have suggested that serotoninergic neurons located throughout the brainstem share a similar function: the regulation of systemic pH homeostasis. Most intriguing is the supposition that the dysfunction of these medullary and midbrain serotoninergic neurons might lead to migraine headaches, anxiety or panic disorder, or lack of arousal leading to suffocation, or in the case of infants, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).