Roles for Serotonin in Neuroembryogenesis

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Abstract
The idea that neurotransmitters such as serotonin (5-HT) might have non-transmitter functions during development has arisen from the observation in a number of species that these substances are present early in embryogenesis prior to the onset of synaptogenesis or neurotransmission. (Proposed functions for these early agents include the control of cell shape changes and morphogenetic cell movements during cleavage and gastrulation in sea urchins, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals; participation in the process of neurulation, torsion and flexure in chicks; and as humoral regulators of neuronal genesis in rats (Table 1).