{"id":1675,"date":"2011-05-03T13:20:15","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T13:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2018\/11\/25\/1026-autosave-v1\/"},"modified":"2019-07-11T08:32:36","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T08:32:36","slug":"5-ht2a-receptor-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2011\/05\/03\/5-ht2a-receptor-2\/","title":{"rendered":"5-HT2A receptor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many drugs, and most drugs that are directed at cognitive processes (e.g. anti-depressants, hallucinogenics) target\u00a0receptors. Receptors are\u00a0proteins involved in the way\u00a0cells\u00a0in the body signal to each other. The following is a review of one particular type of receptor called the 5-HT2A\u00a0receptor, and it’s role in mediating the effects of\u00a0LSD.<\/p>\n

What is a receptor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our body is made up of individual units called cells. There are sorts of different types of cells, like muscle cells or fat cells or neuron cells.\u00a0Neurons\u00a0are cells that are very good at transmitting signals, and are involved in receiving signals (like when you see something in your eye), or transmitting signals (like when you tell your hand to move), or when you need to process information (like when you imagine something).<\/p>\n

There are two major strategies neurons use to send and receive information. (1) Within a neuron, signals can be sent as electricity, and then when it needs to pass on the information to the next neuron then (2) it releases a chemical out across the small gap between neurons to the next neuron. This gap between the two neurons where they signal to each other is called the\u00a0synapse. The next neuron then receives the chemical and based on how it interprets it, it might signal itself (in which case it will send an electric current) or possibly turn off, or even just slightly modify the way it signals.<\/p>\n

The chemicals that neurons use to send messages to each other are called\u00a0neurotransmitters. There are many different types of neurotransmitters. Some of the famous neurotransmitters include\u00a0dopamine\u00a0and\u00a0serotonin. Neurotransmitters have their corresponding receptors. So if the first cell (called\u00a0presynaptic) sends serotonin to the next cell (called\u00a0postsynaptic) then the second receptor will use a serotonin receptor receive the signal. To a certain extent, the relationship between neurotransmitters and receptors is like a key and lock, so that a receptor can normally only be turned on by one particular neurotransmitter.<\/p>\n

A detail which makes this all more complicated is that receptors have subtypes. Subtypes are categorized according to their similarity. So, for example, there is a type of receptor called\u00a0muscarinic receptors\u00a0which receive signals from the neurotransmitter\u00a0acetylcholine. To date, there are have been five subtypes of muscarinic receptors identified (M1\u00a0through to M5). All muscarinic receptors respond to their main neurotransmitter – acetylcholine – but they can be found in different parts of the body and also respond in different ways upon receiving a signal. Additionally, drugs can take advantage of receptor subtypes by making sure the drug preferentially activates one particular subtype.<\/p>\n

What’s the 5-HT2A\u00a0receptor?
\nSerotonin is a major neurotransmitter.\u00a0Confusingly,\u00a0serotonin is also known by the name 5-Hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT[1]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a05-Hydroxytryptamine isn’t just a random name chosen by scientists to make themselves sound more important. That phrase – “5-Hydroxytryptamine” – is the chemical name for serotonin, so it describes what serotonin is actually made of. ELABORATE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many drugs, and most drugs that are directed at cognitive processes (e.g. anti-depressants, hallucinogenics) target\u00a0receptors. Receptors are\u00a0proteins involved in the way\u00a0cells\u00a0in the body signal to each other. The following is a review of one particular type of receptor called the 5-HT2A\u00a0receptor, and it’s role in mediating the effects of\u00a0LSD. What is a receptor? Our body […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[159,206,103,204,16],"tags":[],"metadata":[158],"class_list":["post-1675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-biology","category-essay","category-everything2","category-science","metadata-shai_footnotes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1713,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/11\/19\/nicotine-receptors-and-depression-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":0},"title":"Nicotine receptors and depression","author":"Pala","date":"November 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a summary of a review-piece published in the prestigious science journal\u00a0Trends in Pharmacological Sciences\u00a0in 2010 ([link]) entitled \"Nicotine receptors and depression: revisiting and revising the cholinergic hypothesis\". The publication was authored by Yann Mineur and Marina Picciotto and discussed the connection between smoking, nicotinic receptors, and depression. Below\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1717,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/11\/24\/line-1-retrotransposition-in-neurons-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":1},"title":"LINE-1 retrotransposition in neurons","author":"Pala","date":"November 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"LINE-1\u00a0retrotransposons are sections of\u00a0DNA\u00a0which are capable of copying themselves into another part of the\u00a0genome. Although traditionally considered to merely epitomize the concept of the\u00a0selfish gene, more recently they have been suggested to have physiological functions. Here I discuss the\u00a0incredibly fascinating hypothesis\u00a0that\u00a0LINE-1\u00a0retrotransposons may be important in generating\u00a0neuronal variation. Selfish genes and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1712,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2013\/05\/03\/the-prion-protein-as-a-receptor-for-amyloid-beta\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":2},"title":"The prion protein as a receptor for amyloid-beta","author":"Pala","date":"May 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm currently - 03\/05\/13 - in the process of updating this. I've added the section \"Update (May 2013)\", which is still a work in process (i.e. otherwise I would delete this note here). The title of this node comes from a\u00a0Nature\u00a0communication in which recent research linking the\u00a0prion protein (PrP)\u00a0and the\u00a0amyloid-beta\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2476,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2013\/04\/22\/science-review-pcsk9-assists-ldl-cholesterol-determined-cardiac-health-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":3},"title":"Science Review: PCSK9 assists LDL cholesterol determined cardiac health","author":"Pala","date":"April 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Concepts: PCSK9, and LDL cholesterol. Source: A News Feature\u00a0in Nature\u00a0(April 9, 2013). Background: PCSK9 circulates in the blood, binding to the LDL receptor on the surface of liver cells, taking them into the cell to be degraded. 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This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2433,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2014\/02\/13\/neurobiology-of-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":5},"title":"Neurobiology of love","author":"Pala","date":"February 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This is\u00a0for\u00a0you. I\u00a0love\u00a0you. Love\u00a0is the quintessential\u00a0romantic,\u00a0irrational,\u00a0human\u00a0experience. It is in the first place the domain of its\u00a0clients, although readily owned by the\u00a0poets. As for others. The philosophers are permitted access, though they often regress into poets too; describing love as sacred,\u00a0profound, and utterly existential. 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