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Endocannabinoid Regulation of Monoamines in Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders pp 277–295Cite as

Involvement of Serotonergic System in Cannabinoid Analgesia

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Abstract

Plant cannabinoids have been used historically as a therapeutic agent in some folk medicine for the treatment of headache, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel and related conditions in which serotonergic pathways are considered to play a crucial role in pathogenesis and treatment modalities. Serotonergic system has important modulatory role in acute and chronic pain conditions. The analgesic efficacy of cannabinoids in acute and chronic pain appear to be mediated, at least in part, through the regulation of the serotonergic system. In this chapter, we review the interaction between cannabinoids and serotonergic system in the peripheral, spinal and supraspinal sites with special emphasis on serotonin in central sites by which cannabinoid CB1 receptor activation reinforce descending serotonergic pathways to produce antinociceptive effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Pharmacology, Gulhane Military Academy of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Ahmet Dogrul & Melik Seyrek

  2. Department of Anatomy, Gulhane Military Academy of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Bulent Yalcin

  3. Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey

    Ahmet Ulugol

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  1. Ahmet Dogrul
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  2. Melik Seyrek
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  3. Bulent Yalcin
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  4. Ahmet Ulugol
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Correspondence to Ahmet Dogrul .

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  1. , Department of Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Walnut Street 900, Philadelphia, 19147, Pennsylvania, USA

    Elisabeth J. Van Bockstaele

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Dogrul, A., Seyrek, M., Yalcin, B., Ulugol, A. (2013). Involvement of Serotonergic System in Cannabinoid Analgesia. In: Van Bockstaele, E. (eds) Endocannabinoid Regulation of Monoamines in Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7940-6_13

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