This volume represents the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute on Amino Acids as Chemical Transmitters, which took ~lace at Spatind Hotel in Norway, August 14-21, 1977. The meeting is related to two previous meetings on metabolic compart­ mentation in the brain. The first of these meetings took place at Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy, July 11-16, 1971 and the proceedings, Metabolic Compartmentation in Brain, were edited by R. Balazs and J. E. Cremer and published by Macmillan in 1973. The second meeting was an Advanced Study Institute on Metabolic Com­ partmentation and Neurotransmission Relation to Brain Structure and Function, which was held in Oxford, September 1-8, 1974. The proceedings were edited by S. Berl, D. D. Clarke and D. Schneider and published as Volume 6 of the NATO ASI Life Science series by Plenum Press. The object of the present meeting was to review and discuss the present status of amino acids as chemical transmitters. Several issues such as electrophysiological response, localization, synthe­ sis, release and receptor binding of transmitter candidates were discussed. The possible morphological correlates to these func­ tions were also reviewed. During the meeting 24 leading papers were given. In addition, several of the participants presented important new findings during the discussion. Some of these have been included as short reports. The main financial support was obtained from NATO, Scientific Affairs Division.

Inhalt

I: Morphology.- Morphological Correlates for Transmitter Synthesis, Transport, Release, Uptake and Catabolism: A Study of Serotonin Neurons in the Nucleus Paragigantocellularis Lateralis.- Comments on the Morphology of Inhibitory Axons.- Ultrastructural Analysis of Axo-Dendritic Initial Collateral Terminals of a Feline Spinocervical Tract Neurone, Stained Intracellularly with Horseradish Peroxidase.- Electron Cytochemistry of GABA-Transaminase in Rat Cetebellar Cortex, and Evidence for Multimolecular Forms of the Enzyme.- II: Electrophysiology and Neuropharmacology.- Pre- and Non-Synaptic Activities of GABA and Related Amino Acids in the Mammalian Nervous System.- Quantitative Studies of Iontophoretically Applied Excitatory Amino Acids.- Interactions of Central Depressants with Amino Acids and Their Antagonists.- III: Localization.- Critical Evaluation of the Use of Radioautography as a Tool in the Localization of Amino Acids in the Mammalian Central Nervous System.- Transmitters in the Basal Ganglia.- Comments on the Localization of Neurotransmitters in the Basal Ganglia.- Localization of Transmitter Amino Acids: Application to Hippocampus and Septum.- Glutamate Concentration in Individual Layers of the Rabbit Hippocampus.- The Effect of Intrahippocampal Administration of ?-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA).- Neurotransmitters in the Amygdala: A Brief Review.- GABA Markers in the Hypothalamus: Topographical Distribution and Origin.- Identified Aplysia Neurons with Rapid and Specific Glycine Uptake.- IV: The Visual System.- Neurotransmitters in the Avian Visual System.- Neurotransmitters of the Mammalian Visual System.- The Localization and Metabolism of Neuroactive Amino Acids in the Retina.- Light-Induced Release of Amino Acids from the Retina.- Classification and Location of Neurons Taking up 3H-GABA in the Visual Cortex of Rats.- V: Uptake, Synthesis and Release.- GABA Agonists and Uptake Inhibitors of Restricted Conformations: Structure-Activity Relations.- Muscimol Analogues Injected into Substantia Nigra: A Valuable New In Vivo Model for GABA-Ergic Drugs.- Uptake, Exchange and Release of GABA in Isolated Nerve Endings.- Cis 3-Aminocyclohexane Carboxylic Acid, a Selective Inhibitor and Substrate for the Neuronal GABA Uptake Process.- Properties of the Accumulation of D-[14C]Aspartate into Rat Cerebral Crude Synaptosomal Fraction.- The Effect of Glutamate on the Structure and K+-Transport of Synaptosomes.- On the Metabolic and Intrasynaptic Origin of Amino Acid Transmitters.- Glutamate as a CNS Neurotransmitter: Properties of Release, Inactivation and Biosynthesis.- Role of GABAergic and Glycinergic Transmissions in the Substantia Nigra in the Regulation of Dopamine Release in the Cat Caudate Nucleus.- The Interaction Between GABAergic Drugs and Dopaminergic Stimulants.- Glutamate Decarboxylase, Properties and the Synaptic Function of GABA.- The Possible Involvement of GABA and its Compartmentation in the Mechanism of Some Convulsant and Anticonvulsant Agents.- VI: Receptor Binding.- The GABA Receptor Assay: Focus on Human Studies.- 3H-GABA Binding to Membranes Prepared from Post-Mortem Human Brain: Pharmacological and Pathological Investigations.- Studies on the Gamma Aminobutyric Acid Receptor/Ionophore Proteins in Mammalian Brain.- Comparison of 3H-Muscimol and 3H-GABA Receptor Binding in Rat Brain.- GABA Receptor in Rat Brain: Demonstration of an Antagonist Binding Site.- A Study of the GABA Receptor Using 3H-Bicuculline Methobromide.- GABA Receptors and Phospholipids.- Second Messenger Responses and Regulation of High Affinity Receptor Binding to Study Pharmacological Modifications of GABAergic Transmission.- VII: Functional and Metabolic Aspects.- Glycine: Inhibition from the Sacrum to the Medulla.- Taurine and Other Sulphur Containing Amino Acids: Their Function in the Central Nervous System.- A Functional Role for Amino Acids in the Adaptation of Tissues from the Nervous System to Alterations in Environmental Osmolality.- Isolation and Biochemical Characterization of Morphologically Defined Structures, Including Cell Types, From the Cerebellum.- Glial Cells and Amino Acid Transmitters.- Interactions Between Neurotransmitters and Astroglial Cells.- Amino Acid Precursors: Their Transport into Brain and Initial Metabolism.- Metabolic Compartmentation of the Glutamate-Glutamine System: Glial Contribution.- Compartmentation of Amino Acids in Brain: The GABA-Glutamine-Glutamate Cycle.- Computer Modeling as an Aid to Understanding Metabolic Compartmentation of the Krebs Cycle in Brain Tissue.