Serotonin: release in the forebrain by stimulation of midbrain raphé

Electrical stimulation of the midbrain raphé, an area in which neuronal perikarya containing serotonin are aggregated, produces an increase in 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and a decrease in serotonin in the forebrain. These changes indicate that serotonin in the brain can be released via a specific neural pathway, namely, the system of axons projecting into the forebrain from serotonin-containing neurons in the midbrain raphé.