Molecular neurobiology for practicing psychiatrists, part 4: transferring the message of chemical neurotransmission from presynaptic neurotransmitter to postsynaptic gene expression

Neurotransmitters activate genes in their target neurons by precipitating a molecular cascade, which may be the ultimate consequence of chemical neurotransmission. When this transfer is aberrant, a mental disorder may be manifest. When drugs act upon neurons to change gene expression, this could lead to therapeutic actions, side effects, and the long-term consequences of drug abuse.