Frontiers In Catecholamine Research

Frontiers in Catecholamine Research is a collection of papers presented at the Third International Catecholamine Symposium, held at the University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, on May 20-25, 1973. This book is organized into nine parts encompassing 205 chapters. The text begins with a discussion on clinically and experimentally used drugs that have been developed or whose mechanism of action has been clarified through monoamine research. Parts II and III deal with enzymes related to catecholamine studies, their properties, regulation, genetics, mechanism of action, and localization. Parts IV and V examine the concepts of synaptic dynamics of brain regulators and the isolation, characterization, methods of analysis, and mechanism of action of catecholamines. Part VI focuses on the complexities that surround the extrapolation of catecholamine function into the realms of electrophysiology and behavior. Part VII discusses the metabolism, behavioral, neurological, and physiological effects of amphetamine and other drugs of abuse. The concluding parts describe the role of catecholamine and its metabolism in neurologic diseases, such as schizophrenia.

The editor of these volumes has asked me to contribute a brief foreword. When I accepted this honor I suddenly became aware of the enormous progress that has taken place in this field in the 50 years since I began as a medical student, in a humble way, to take interest in the catecholamine system. At about that time some evidence was forthcoming to the effect that catecholamines were an important factor in eliciting emotional reactions, thus secondarily influencing behavior. The great physiologist Walter B. Cannon showed in his classic experiments that when a cat was exposed to a dog it responded not only with overt signs of aversion and dislike, but also with an increased flow of adrenaline from its adrenals. The relationships between catecholamines and behavior have since then become the subject of intense research by physiologists, pharmacologists, and psychologists. Infu sion of adrenaline in man was shown to provoke a typical pattern of emo tional and behavioral changes. The development of more convenient methods for the measurement of catecholamines in blood and urine led to important new findings. A close association between emotional stress and catecholamine release could be es tablished. This was further extended to psychiatric disorders in which characteristic disturbances in catecholamine release patterns were described.

Catecholamines and Stress covers the proceedings of the International Symposium on Catecholamines and Stress, held in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia on July 27-30, 1975. This book mainly focuses on catecholamines and stress, presenting papers specifically discussing the brain, neurohumoral regulation in stress, and changes induced by stress. A set of papers tackle the catecholamine synthesizing and degrading enzymes under stress. Other papers are devoted to topics on catecholamine synthesis and degradation under stress; release, level, and excretion of catecholamines in stress; and catecholamines and stress in man. This text will be invaluable to students and experts in physiology, biology, and related fields.

Catecholamines and Schizophrenia reviews research linking catecholamines to schizophrenia. Topics include the relationship between stereotyped behavior and amphetamine psychosis, between antipsychotic drugs and catecholamine synapses, and between biogenic amines and behavior. The chemical neuropathology of schizophrenia, enzymology and regulation of catecholamine enzymes, and advances in histochemical technologies used in neurochemical pathology are also covered. This book consists of 47 chapters organized into six sections. After giving an overview of the pharmacology and physiology of stereotyped behavior, this book discusses the behavioral and biochemical aspects of amphetamine psychosis; stereoselective features of catecholamine disposition and their behavioral implications; and the effects of amphetamines on catecholamine metabolism. A two-factor theory of schizophrenia is also presented. The chapters that follow focus on the role of monoamine oxidase in schizophrenia and other behavioral disorders; the chemical pathology of schizophrenia; genetic control of biogenic amines; and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase. This book will be of value to students, researchers, and practitioners in fields ranging from neuropharmacology and physiology to biology, biochemistry, psychiatry, and psychology.