The interaction of neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and neuroactive drugs with receptors localized at the cell surface initiates a chain of molecular events leading to integrated neuronal responses to the triggering stimuli. Major advancements in the characterization and isolation of recep­ tor molecules have answered many quest ions regarding the nature of the ele­ ments that determine the specificity in these interactions. At the same time, recent studies have provided evidence that delicate regulation by intracellular enzymatic systems determines the efficiency of the stimulus­ response coupling process, mediates the interaction between receptors, operates in feedback control mechanisms and transduces signals from the receptors to various effector sites in a highly coordinated fashion. These studies are at the focus of the present volume, which is an outcome of a symposium held at the University of Vermont College of Medicine on March 21-23, 1986, in conjunction with the seventeenth annual meeting of the Amer­ ican Society for Neurochemistry. The symposium has demonstrated clearly that the concerted efforts of investigators in neurophysiology, biochemis­ try, pharmacology, cell-biology, molecular genetics, neurology, and psy­ chiatry are required to achieve better understanding of the processes under­ lying neuronal responsiveness. This volume includes contributions provided by prominent investigators in all these research areas. We hope that the readers will find here a useful source of information and ideas for stimu­ lating further studies which may serve to narrow the gap between basic neuroscience research and its clinical implications.

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Section I Signal Transduction and Stimulus-Response Coupling.- Further Studies on Depolarization Release Coupling in Squid Giant Synapse.- Temporal and Spatial Events in the Calcium Messenger System.- Potassium Channels in Mouse Spinal Cord Cells.- Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Inositol Phospholipids at the Synapse in Neuronal Responsiveness.- Receptor-Mediated Phosphoinositide Metabolism.- Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor-Linked Inositide Cycle in the Central Nervous System.- The Role of GTP-Binding Proteins in Receptor Activation of Phospholipase C.- Molecular Geometries and Steric Energies of Phorbol 10, 11-Diacetate and 1, 2-Diacetylglycerol Molecules.- A Model of the Light Dependent Regulation of Retinal Rod Phosphodiesterase, Guanylate Cyclase and the Cation Flux.- Regulation of Neuronal Adenylate Cyclase.- Synapsin I, A Phosphoprotein Associated with Synaptic Vesicles: Possible Role in Regulation of Neurotransmitter Release.- Regulation of the Phosphorylation and Dephosphorylation of a 96,000 Dalton Phosphoprotein (P96) in Intact Synaptosomes.- Phosphorylation and Dephosphorylation of Neurofilament Proteins in Retinal Ganglion Cell Neurons In Vivo.- Extracellular Protein Phosphorylation in Neuronal Responsiveness and Adaptation.- Expression of Rat Brain Excitatory Amino Acid Receptors in Xenopus Oocytes.- Tyrosine Availability: A Presynaptic Factor Controlling Catecholamine Release.- Molecular Mechanisms Controlling Norepinephrine-Mediated Release of Serotonin from Rat Pineal Glands.- Molecular Mechanisms of Acidic Amino Acid Release From Mossy Fiber Terminals of Rat Cerebellum.- Section II Neuronal Adaptation and Synaptic Plasticity.- Molecular Mechanisms of ?-Adrenergic Receptor Desensitization.- Long-Term Synergistic Regulation of Ionic Channels byC-Kinase and Ca++/CaM-Type II Kinase.- A Possible Second Messenger System for the Production of Long-Term Changes in Synapses.- Protein F1 and Protein Kinase C May Regulate the Persistence, Not the Initiation, of Synaptic Potentiation in the Hippocampus.- Electrophysiologic Responses and Adenylate Cyclase Activities of Mouse Spinal Cord-Dorsal Root Ganglion Expiants Rendered Tolerant by Chronic Exposure to Morphine or Pertussis Toxin.- Biochemical and Functional Interactions of a Selective Kappa Opioid Agonist with Calcium.- Long-Term Inhibition of Kindled Seizures by Chemical and Electrophysiological Techniques: Insights into the Kindling Process?.- Altered Reactivity of the Rat Adrenal Medulla Following Periods of Chronic Stress.- Chemoreception: Paramecium as a Receptor Cell.- Reduction of Dopamine Receptor Activity Differentially Alters Striatal Neuropeptide mRNA Levels.- Section III Behavioral and Clinical Implications.- B-50 Phosphorylation, Protein Kinase C and the Induction of Excessive Grooming Behavior in the Rat.- Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Excitability: Possible Involvement of CaM Kinase II in Seizure Activity.- Cytoskeletal Pathology in Neurodegenerative Diseases.- Modulation of Schwann Cell Antigens During Wallerian Degeneration and Regeneration in the Adult, Mammalian Peripheral Nerve.- A Physiological Role of the Benzodiazepine/GABA Receptor-Chloride Ionophore Complex in Stress.- Interactions of the Alkyl-Ether-Phospholipid, Platelet Activating Factor (PAF) with Platelets, Neural Cells, and the Psychotropic Drugs Triazolobenzodiazepines.- The Serotonin-Norepinephrine Link Hypothesis of Affective Disorders: Receptor-Receptor Interactions in Brain.- "Substance M", A Serotonin Modulator Candidate from Human Urine?.- Role of Receptor Coupling toPhosphoinositide Metabolism in the Therapeutic Action of Lithium.- Agonist-Stimulation of Cerebral Phosphoinositide Turnover Following Long-Term Treatment with Antidepresants.- A Possible Role for Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone (TRH) in Antidepressant Treatment.