Mapping serotonin dynamics in the living brain
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that’s partly responsible for feelings of happiness and for mood regulation in humans. This makes it a common target for antidepressants, which block serotonin from being reabsorbed by neurons after it has dispatched its signal, so more of it stays floating around the brain. Now MIT researchers have developed an imaging technique that, for the first time, enables three-dimensional mapping of serotonin as it’s reabsorbed into neurons, across multiple regions of the living brain. This technique, the researchers say, gives an unprecedented view of serotonin dynamics, and could be a powerful tool for the research and development of antidepressants. “Until now, it was not possible to look at how neurotransmitters are transported into cells across large regions of the brain,” says Aviad Hai, a postdoc in the Department of Biological Engineering and first author of a paper describing the technique in today’s issue of Neuron. “It’s the first...