A heteroreceptor is a receptor located in the cell membrane of a neuron regulating the synthesis and/or the release of mediators other than its own ligand. These receptors play a crucial role in modulating neurotransmitte r systems and are often targets for therapeutic drugs. By influencing the activity of other neurotransmitters, heteroreceptors contribute to the complex regulation of neural communication and have been implicated in various physiological and pathological processes. Heteroreceptors may be located in any part of the Neuron including the dendrites, the cell body, the axon, or the axon terminals. Heteroreceptors respond to neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, or neurohormones released from adjacent neurons or cells; they are opposite to autoreceptors, which are sensitive only to neurotransmitters or hormones released by the cell in whose wall they are embedded.

Examples