Serotonins betydelse för sinnesstämning hos hund med fokus på aggressivitet och oro

Sammanfattning: Behavioural problems in dogs might affect the welfare of both humans and dogs negatively. Today, psychological diseases such as depression, are common in humans. In contrast, in dogs, behavioural problems associated with separation and anxiety are commonly reported. Serotonin has appeared to be important for development of depression in humans, and it can therefore be interesting to study if changes in serotonin levels are correlated to behavioural problems in dogs as well. This literature study aims to investigate if there are associations between serotonin and behaviour in dogs and if breed, gender, feed and exercise can affect the serotonin concentration. Since the literature mainly reports studies on aggression and anxiety in dogs this literature study focuses on these issues. Serotonin is a biogenic amine, synthesized from tryptophan, and can be classified as neurotransmitter, a hormone or a mitogen. It has several functions and operates for example in the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract and the cardiovascular system. There are seven subtypes of serotonin receptors which are called 5-HT1-7. The serotonin concentration has been reported to be lower in aggressive and anxious dogs. The concentration may be affected by breed, and possibly by gender and age. A larger amount of tryptophan in the food can have an impact on the concentration, as well as exercise. However, further research is required since many of the studies show contradictory results.