5-HT Agonists as Psychoactive Drugs

Editor(s): Richard H. Rech, Gary A. Gudelsky Format: Hard cover ISBN-13: 9780916182069 Pages: 583 Publication date: 1990-07-01 Price: $49.99

Many of the papers in this book were based upon presentations at the 24th Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), held in Maui, Hawaii, in December, 1985. They were contained in two symposia: (1) Mechanisms of Indole and Phenalkylamine Hallucinogens, chaired by R.H. Rech; (2) Serotonin Receptor Subtypes: Biochemical, Physiological, Behavioral and Clinical Implications, co-chaired by G.A. Gudelsky. The results presented were based largely on the differential effects of various 5-HT agonists, many of which have been developed only recently. Further development and utility of 5-HT antagonists and methodology to characterize 5-HT mechanisms also contributed to the presentations at the ACNP. The success of these Symposia and the obvious interrelationships of the studies reviewed prompted the publication of this volume. However, a number of other investigators have contributed to this book in areas not represented at the Maui Symposia, and the chapters derived from the ACNP presentations contain much additional data, some developed very recently.

The book is divided into four sections on the basis of the major thrust of the various chapters: Biochemical Approaches, Neurophysiological Approaches, Behavioral Approaches, and Neuroendocrine Aspects. It will become obvious to the reader that these divisions are rather arbitrary, and that many of the tools utilized, results obtained, and general interpretations advanced, have commonalities across chapters in different sections as well as within sections. Despite the current explosive progress in this field identifying yet more subtypes of 5-HT receptors and uncovering greater complexities in functional aspects of 5-HT mechanisms, we anticipate that the contributions contained in this volume will remain a valuable resource for serotonin research for some years to come.
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