Cyclic Nucleotides in the Nervous System

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • John Daly

   Pages 1-2

3. Enzymatic Formation, Degradation, and Action of Cyclic Nucleotides

   • John Daly

   Pages 3-95

4. Accumulation of Cyclic Nucleotides

   • John Daly

   Pages 97-209

5. Functional Role of Cyclic Nucleotides

   • John Daly

   Pages 211-299

6. Conclusion

   • John Daly

   Pages 301-301

7. Back Matter

   Pages 303-401

   PDF

The elucidation of the cellular and molecular bases underlying the inte­ grated function of the central nervous system, both in disease and in health, must ultimately come from the combined efforts of scientists from many disciplines, including biology, chemistry, histology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, and psychology. Communication between scientists from these various disciplines-vital to the advancement of our understanding of the function of the nervous system-has become more and more difficult in recent years. Both increasing specialization and the incredible increases in publications pertinent to brain research in a wide spectrum of journals, in symposium volumes, in monographs, in abstracts, and in reviews contrib­ ute to the problems of cross-communication and even of communication within a scientific discipline. Research on the significance of cyclic nucleo­ tides to the function of nervous systems is particularly illustrative of the communication problem. Since the initial publications by Sutherland, Rall, and Butcher in the late fifties and early sixties on high levels of adenylate cyclase, phosphodiesterases, and cyclic AMP in brain, the ensuing litera­ ture of this field has expanded exponentially. At the present time, from five to ten publications relevant to cyclic nucleotides and the nervous system appear each week. Indeed, these are minimal numbers based mainly on examination of literature titles and key index words. Many articles concerned with some aspect of central function contain, buried within their text, experiments with or related to cyclic nucleotides.

• adenosine
• biology
• brain
• communication
• experiment
• health
• nervous system
• neurons
• physiology
• research
• system
• time

• National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA

  John Daly

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