Offers a state-of-the-art review by international experts on all aspects of tachykinin receptors, including neuropeptide/peptide and G-protein-linked receptors in general. It covers the physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and molecular biology of these receptors from both clinical and basic research points of view.

Topics treated by the distinguished contributors include the characterization of tachykinin receptors, the mechanisms of tachykinin receptor action, a reflection on future prospects, and a historical consideration of tachykinin research.

Inhalt
I. Historical Perspectives of Tachykinins.- 1 History of Tachykinin Peptides 1.- 2 History of Tachykinin Receptors 23.- II. Characterization of Tachykinin Receptors.- 3 Biochemical Methods and Assays 39.- 4 Agonist and Antagonist Receptor Binding.- 5 Comparative Distribution of Receptor Types in the Mammalian Brain 101.- 6 Autoradiographic Localization of Receptors in Peripheral Tissues 125.- 7 Molecular Biology of Receptors: Structures, Expression,and Regulatory Mechanisms 165.- 8 Characterization of the NKl Receptor Using Photoaffinity Probes 219.- 9 Modeling of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors: Application to the NK1Tachykinin Receptor 237.- III. Mechanisms of Tachykinin Receptor Action.- 10 Receptors and the Inositol PhosphateCalcium Signaling System 257.- 11 Signal Transduction Mechanisms of Tachykinin Effects on Ion Channels 285.- IV. Tachykinin Receptor Function.- 12 StructureActivity Relationships of Agonist and Antagonist Ligands 329.- 13 Pharmacological Characterization of Receptor Types 367.- 14 Evidence for Receptor Subtypes/Species Variants of Receptors. 395.- 15 Role of Receptors in Nociception 471.- 16 Pharmacological Characterization of Receptors in the Spinal Cord of the Newborn Rat 499.- 17•Receptor Function in the Periphery 515.- 18 Receptor Involvement in Pathology and Disease 581.- V. Summary and Future Perspectives.- 19 Summary, Thoughts, and Future Perspectives 611.