Neurochemical Pharmacology

Neurochemical Pharmacology — A Tribute to B.B. Brodie. Fidia Research Foundation Symposium Series. Volume 2

Edited by E. Costa

New York, Raven Press, 1989. 369 pp.

This book represents the proceedings of a Symposium held in April 1988 to honor Dr. Bernard Brodie, who died in February 1989 while the book was in press. The book consists of a series of articles in neuropharmacology by many of the world’s leading experts in the field and is a fitting tribute to Dr. Brodie and his remarkable career.

Dr. Brodie was for many years director of the Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology at the National Heart Institute. Under his direction, the laboratory played an important role in establishing a new approach to pharmacology, termed by the editor of this book “Neurochemical Pharmacology.” This approach, elaborated in the 1950—60s, was based on the view that it would ultimately be possible to understand all of the brain’s functions, including mental functions, on the basis of the underlying biochemistry of the brain. The approach had an enormous influence on the biomedical sciences and provided the basis for a generation or two of research in biological psychiatry. An impressive number of investigators trained in the Brodie laboratory during this time, among whom were Julius Axelfrod, Jack Cooper, Erminio Costa, and Solomon Snyder. In fact, the extraordinary productivity of Dr. Brodie’s laboratory and its disciples was the subject of a recent book, Apprentice to Genius by Robert Kanigel.

The current volume is divided into four sections entitled: “Transmitters,” “Transmitter Function,” “Receptor Modulation,” and “Signal Transduction.” The following articles are particularly noteworthy: Arvid Carlsson presents a challenging overview of the role played by brain dopamine systems in motor and mental functions. Tomas Hokfelt and others offer a comprehensive and helpful review of the localization of peptide neurotransmitters in monoaminergic and cholinergic neurons. Of note in the second section are reviews of the role of monoaminergic systems in satiety (by S. Garattini and others) and stress (by Roger Maickel). An article by S. Roy and others in the third section describes attempts partially to purify opiate receptors and prepare monoclonal antibodies to the receptor. K. Fuxe and colleagues describe “receptor/ receptor interactions,” the critical idea that neurotransmitter systems interact with one another, making it likely that psychotropic drugs influence brain function through effects on multiple types of neurotransmitter and receptor systems. Goran Sedvall and others describe their experience in the use of positron emission tomography to image neurotransmitter receptors in living human subjects. In the fourth section. Fridolin Sulser and Elaine Sanders-Bush offer a very thoughtful and up-to-date analysis of the probable mechanisms involved in the clinical actions of antidepressant treatments and experimental approaches. Erminio Costa presents some of the data obtained over the years, much from his own laboratory, underscoring the importance of the role played by the regulation of gene expression in adaptive changes in brain function.

As would be expected, the quality and focus of the articles in this book are variable. Despite the considerable delay in publication of this volume, most of the articles remain up to date. The book would be useful to individuals in the field for its reviews and to individuals only peripherally associated with the field as a more general overview of current research in neuropharmacology.