Serotonin, social status and aggression

Abstract

Serotonin, social status and aggression appear to be linked in many animal species, including humans. The linkages are complex, and, for the most part, details relating the amine to the behavior remain obscure. During the past year, important advances have been made in a crustacean model system relating serotonin and aggression. The findings include the demonstration that serotonin injections will cause transient reversals in the unwillingness of subordinate animals to engage in agonistic encounters, and that at specific synaptic sites involved in activation of escape behavior, the direction of the modulation by serotonin depends on the social status of the animal.