The contributions have been grouped into the following categories: functional morphology, biochemistry and pharmacology of pineal indoleamine synthesis, cell biology of melatonin interactions with its receptor, physiologic actions of melatonin with systems unrelated to neuroimmunology, functional re

In the two years before the workshop a number of revolutionary discoveries were made relative to the actions of the pineal hormone melatonin: the Xenopus melatonin receptor was cloned, melatonin was demonstrated to be a potent antioxidant, the significance of melatonin receptors at the level of pars

This volume contains the written contributions to the proceedings of a workshop related to the pineal gland and its hormones, which was held in Erice, Italy, on June 7 -June 13, 1994. This series of workshops, which began in 1982 and which have been held at four-year intervals since that time, has provided important continuity for advancing the state of knowledge relating to this very important investigative area. The enthusiasm for these conferences has increased steadily, as reflected in the number of individuals applying to attend and in the input of individuals who participate in the...

Research related to the pineal gland has advanced rapidly in the last three decades since the discovery of its most important hormone, melatonin. This indoleamine has been shown to have a large variety of effects in the organism; the bulk of these actions were initially thought to relate the pineal gland to the reproductive and endocrine systems. It is now apparent, however, that the physiologic interactions of the pineal and its hormones far transcend its control of endocrine function. One field of pineal research that has developed rapidly within the last 5 years has been the demonstration...