An international symposium titled "Functional Morphology of Neuroendocrine Systems: Evolutionary and Environmental Aspects" was held on the occasion of the 60th birthday of Professor Andreas Oksche, head of the Department of Anatomy and Cytobiology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, FRG. This volume containing the texts of the plenary lectures and the abstracts of poster contributions presented at the symposium on July 30-August 1, 1986 in Giessen, reflects the rapid expansion of the field of neuroendocrinology. New insights into the interactions between neurons acting as endocrine cells and...

This book provides an updated overview of a rapidly develo- ping and exciting area of investigation dealing with the ro- le of neuropeptides in immunoregulatory processes. Existing texts focus on the bidirectional exchange of signals among the nervous, endocrine and immune systems in mammals, car- ried out primarily by the enkephalin and proopiomelanocortin families of neuropeptides and lymphokines. This collection of material is the first one to include pertinent informa- tion obtained in invertebrates, which has considerably ad- vanced our knowledge of the role of opioid neuropeptides,...