Part of Springer s The Receptors, series, this text is the first ever overview on the research of 5-HT2c receptors. 5-HT2c receptor research has been productive for twenty-five years, but recent years have seen an extraordinary increase in both amount produced and insight gained. 5-HT2c is a prominent central serotonin receptor subtype widely expressed within the central and the peripheral nervous system and is thought to play a key role in the regulation of numerous behaviors. This text covers the molecular, cellular, anatomical, biochemical and behavioral aspects of this receptor,...

This new edition covers the latest knowledge on opiate receptors and related receptor subtypes. It discusses many topics pertaining to the unique integrated approach of correlating the biochemical, physiological and pharmacological aspects of opiate reaction.

A comprehensive and detailed overview of the current state of preclinical research on histamine and histamine receptors.

Research on muscarinic receptors is advancing at an extraordinary rate. Ten years ago, the existence of muscarinic receptor sub types was a logical assumption with only scattered experimen tal support. The discovery that pirenzepine recognized apparent heterogeneity in muscarinic binding sites infused new life into the problem of subclassifying muscarinic receptors. Simultaneous advances in molecular biology created a frenzy to clone cell sur face receptors. The muscarinic receptor succumbed surprisingly quickly, revealing its structure and that of at least four closely related gene products...

Historically, the major emphasis on the study of purinergic systems has been predominantly in the areas of physiology and gross pharmacology. The last decade has seen an exponential in crease in the number of publications related to the role of both adenosine and A TP in mammalian tissue function, a level of interest that has evolved from a more molecular focus on the identity of adenosine and A TP receptor subtypes and the search for selective ligands and development of radioligand binding assays by Fred Bruns and colleagues (especially that for A receptors) that played z a highly...

Serotonin (5-HT) was isolated and chemically characterized nearly four decades ago, and is now generally accepted to function as a neurotransmitter and neuromodulatory agent. Early research focused on the measurement of concentrations, synthesis, and metabolism of 5-HT, and only recently has the focus shifted to characterization of 5-HT receptors. Gaddum and Picarelli first sug gested in 1957 that the effect of 5-HT in the guinea pig ileum is mediated by two pharmacologically distinguishable receptors; however, the possibility of dual5-HT receptors was not explored systematically or...

During the past decade, great strides have been made in our un derstanding of the biochemistry and pharmacology of the alpha-l adrenergic receptor. The alpha-l adrenergic receptor plays a key role in biological function. This is evidenced by the fact that the alpha-l adrenergic receptor plays a prominent functional role in most organs of the body and in the key systems responsible for survival of the organism and maintenance of optimum biological activity. This is most apparent in the cardiovascular system, in which alpha-l adrenergic receptors are the single most important receptor involved...

The following remarks are intended to serve as an introduction to this particular volume as well as to the whole series of volumes of which this is the first. The intent of the series is to provide an authentic and relatively complete statement about the status of our understanding of the receptors. The models we had in mind while developing this series are The Enzymes, The Proteins, and comparable groups of books. The receptors have received a degree of importance and richness of understanding that makes them deserving of comprehensive and complete coverage. The study of these molecules,...

The Ghrelin receptor was identified before its natural ligand ghrelin. This receptor is found both centrally and peripherally, and has been shown to affect various processes, such as food intake, gut motility, memory, glucose and lipid metabolism, cardiovascular performances, reproduction, memory, and immunological responses, amongst others. The functions of the ghrelin receptor in the central nervous system are numerous and are still being explored. In this book we specifically focus on the various roles of the ghrelin receptor in the central nervous system. In a first set of chapters, the...