Neurotransmitters And Anterior Pituitary Function

Neurotransmitters and Anterior Pituitary Function discusses research findings on neurotransmitter-neurohormone interactions in the control of the anterior pituitary. This book contains five chapters that specifically tackle the most salient constituents of the neural-endocrine communication system in mammals. This book deals first with the biochemistry, physiology, and pharmacology of proved or putative neurotransmitters, as well as some of the techniques used for determining their synthesis or turnover in the central nervous system (CNS) of experimental animals or in man. These topics are followed by a discussion on the principal functions of the most well-known neurotransmitter containing neurons based on sophisticated techniques for neurotransmitter measurements. A chapter highlights both traditional and a vast series of developed drugs that affect both neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine function. Discussions then shift to the experimental evidence on pituitary function control by the brain through releasing and inhibiting hormones secreted by hypothalamic neuroendocrine cells; the chemical isolation, identification, and synthesis of hypothalamic neurohormones; and concepts of their mechanism of action at the level of the pituitary cells. This text further explores the role of specific brain neurotransmitters in controlling pituitary hormone secretions in both experimental animals and in man and the possible CNS site(s) where neurotransmitters and neurohormones interact for the control of anterior pituitary secretion. The concluding chapter describes the actual or potential application of neuropharmacologic approaches to the diagnosis of and therapy for specific disorders of neuroendocrine function. Clinical neuroendocrinologists and researchers and students in neuroendocrinology, neurobiology, neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, and psychiatry will find this book invaluable.

Brain Messengers and the Pituitary discusses the significant advances in neurotransmission and in understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of neuroendocrine control. This book is organized into seven chapters and begins with a discussion on the main biochemical and electrophysiological mechanisms underlying synaptic communication and the cotransmission and receptor plasticity. The following chapters describe the topographical localization and function of classical neurotransmitter and neuropeptide neurons. This book then presents the evidence on pituitary function control by the brain through specific hypophysiotropic regulatory hormones in relation to the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone and pro-opiomelanocortin-derived peptides, growth hormone, gonadotropins, prolactin, and thyroid-stimulating hormone. A chapter focuses on the neuroendocrine effects of an increasing number of neuropeptides. This text further deals with the role of pituitary gland as the target of central nervous system-derived and peripheral hormonal influences. The concluding chapters look into the experimental evidence linking brain neurotransmitters to the secretion of hypothalamic hormones and to anterior pituitary hormones or to neuroendocrine feedback regulation. These chapters also explore the evidence for neurotransmitter-neuropeptide dysfunction as an etiology for specific neuroendocrine disorders and the potential of the neuropharmacologic approach to the diagnosis and therapy. Clinical neuroendocrinologists and researchers and students in neuroendocrinology, neurobiology, neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, and psychiatry will find this book invaluable.

Advances in Physiological Sciences, Volume 14: Endocrinology, Neuroendocrinology, Neuropeptides, Part II focuses on the research on neuropeptides, endocrinology, and neuroendocrinology. Composed of various contributions of able researchers, the first part of the book is divided into eight chapters. These chapters cover studies on the physiology, biochemistry, and localization of suspected hypothalamic releasing and inhibiting hormones. Researchers show how hormones react in different controlled environments. The second part of the selection deals with the use of in vitro systems in studying neuroendocrine regulation and steroid hormone action. This part is composed of four chapters wherein the extensive discussion of the processes involved is supported by experiments conducted on animals. The third part of the book covers the use of neurotransmitters in the control of anterior pituitary function. Composed of nine chapters, this part offers a thorough investigation of how neurotransmitters function in different controlled conditions. The fourth part of the selection, which is comprised of eight chapters, focuses on the function of neuropeptides as neurotransmitters. Studies are presented to elaborate the processes how neuropeptides can be converted to act as neurotransmitters. The last part, which covers nine chapters, deals exclusively with research on the effects of endogenous opioid peptides on the neuroendocrine system. The book is a great find for those interested in biochemistry.

As in other volumes in the series, this newest volume conveys up-to-date knowledge in a clear and straightforward manner. It begins with a survey of the neurobiological functions of the brain, with the emphasis on Parkinson's disease. This is followed by a presentation of the role of dopamine in the regulation of human anterior pituitary function. The final two chapters concentrate on the dopamine receptors: first, the binding sites are characterized and the biochemical and physiological consequences of dopamine-receptor stimulation are discussed and, finally, there is a report on the topology of a dopamine-receptor model that can account comprehensively for agonists and antagonists.

According to the classical concept of Geoffrey Harris the pituitary gland is controlled by the brain by means of blood-borne chemical messengers produced by central neurons. The recent isolation and structural characterization of several such messengers by Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally and their collaborators brought the final proof for this hypothesis. This also meant that the extensive knowledge collected in the field of neurobiology now became highly relevant for the endocrinologists. For this reason it was felt important to organize a symposium which brought together experts in the fields of neurobiology and endocrinology. The idea was to focus the attention on neuronal mechanisms, particularly those related to chemical transmission, which may be of importance for the central regulation of hormonal secretion patterns. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Nobel Founda tion for supporting the organization of the Nobel Symposium 42 on "Principles of the Central Regulation of the Endocrine System". We would also like to express our thanks to all participants, to Professor Carl-Gustaf Bernhard, Permanent Secretary of the Royal Academy of Sciences, for making the facilities of the Academ- available to us, and to the Symposium secretaries Mrs. Gun Hultgren, Mrs. Lena Persson and Mrs. Ulla-Britt Wedin. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the generous financial support from the Nobel Foundation and its Nobel Symposium Committee through grants from the Tercentenary Foundation of the Bank of Sweden, and from the Swedish Medical Research Council, KABI AB, Stockholm, and ASTRA AB, Sodertalje.