Navigating Like a Fly: as a Model to Explore the Contribution of Serotonergic Neurotransmission to Spatial Navigation.

Serotonin is a monoamine that acts in vertebrates and invertebrates as a modulator promoting changes in the structure and activity of brain areas relevant to animal behavior, ranging from sensory perception to learning and memory. Whether serotonin contributes in to human-like cognitive abilities, including spatial navigation, is an issue little studied. Like in vertebrates, the serotonergic system in is heterogeneous, meaning that distinct serotonergic neurons/circuits innervate specific fly brain regions to modulate precise behaviors. Here we review the literature that supports that serotonergic pathways modify different aspects underlying the formation of navigational memories in .