serotonergic, a. Physiol.
(sɪərətəʊˈnɜːdʒɪk)
[f. next + Gr. ἔργ-ον work + -ic: cf. adrenergic, cholinergic adjs.]
Of a nerve ending: that liberates, and is stimulated by, serotonin. Also ˌserotoniˈnergic a. in the same sense.
| 1957 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. LXVI. 598 They see mental disturbance as an imbalance between adrenergic or ‘serotonergic’ inhibition and cholinergic excitation in the more susceptible cerebral synapses. 1967 Activitas Nervosa Superior IX. 207 (heading) Integrated effect of psychotropic drugs on the balance of cholino-, adreno-, and serotoninergic processes in the brain. 1974 Sci. Amer. Feb. 84/2 There is no escaping the conclusion that nutrient intake does alter the amount of serotonin present in the serotoninergic neurons of the brain. 1977 Lancet 9 Apr. 812/2 The results suggest that in the first period of head injury, patients with a frontotemporal-lobe contusion show a decreased cerebral dopaminergic activity as well as a decreased serotonergic activity. |