PERSPECTIVES ON THE ROLE OF SEROTONERGIC MECHANISMS IN THE PHARMACOLOGY OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

In recent years, a number of research findings has renewed interest in the possible role of serotonin (5-HT) in the pharmacology of schizoph renia. Atypical antipsychotics that potently block. 5-HT receptors hav e been shown to be at least as effective as classical antipsychotics a s well as producing fewer extrapyramidal side-effects. In addition, mo lecular biological studies have suggested that allelic variations of 5 -HT receptor genes may affect both susceptibility to schizophrenia and clinical response to atypical antipsychotics. Building on these findi ngs, this article proposes that 5-HT receptors are critical sites of a ntipsychotic action, and examines the implications of this to the trea tment and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Possible pharmacological m echanisms underlying the clinical efficacy of 5-HT blocking antipsycho tics are discussed, and the potential of functional neuroimaging techn iques to further elucidate these mechanisms is emphasized.