Main description:

70 years after the discovery of secretory neurons, internationally leading experts gathered to discuss the latest developments in neuropeptide research and endocrinology, concentrating on the molecular, cellular, supracellular and systemic aspects. A variety of neuropeptidergic systems are considered under comparative and evolutionary aspects.

Contents:

1. Ernst and Berta Scharrer - Pioneers in Neuroendocrinology.- 2. The Ups and Downs of Neuropeptides.- 3. Neurohormones and Neurohormone Receptors in Invertebrates.- 4. Components of the Neuroendocrine Exocytosis Apparatus.- 5. Neuroendocrine Cells Revisited: A System for Studying Subcellular mRNA Compartmentalization.- 6. Peptide-Secreting Dendrites: New Controls for Neuroendocrine Neurons.- 7. Intracerebral Release of Vasopressin and Oxytocin: New Aspects of the Old Concept of Neurosecretion.- 8. Effects of Neuropeptides on Brain Function in Humans.- 9. Reduced Number of Nitric Oxide Synthase Immunoreactive Neurons in the Nucleus Paraventricularis Hypothalami of Depressed Patients and Schizophrenics.- 10. Neurofibrillary Degeneration in Hypophysiotrophic Nuclei of the Aging Human Hypothalamus.- 11. Sexual Dimorphism, Steroid-Induced Plasticity, and Behavioral Significance of the Vasotocinergic Innervation of the Avian Brain.- 12. The Stimulatory Action of the Glutamate Agonist, N-Methyl-Aspartate, on Luteinizing Hormone Release in the Cockerel with Immunocytochemical Observations on Its Mode of Action.- 13. Neuroendocrine Role of Receptors for Insulin and IGF-1 in the Pituitary Gland: Morphological Considerations.- 14. Insulin-Like Growth Factor I in Bony Fish.- 15. Corticosterone Upregulates Hippocampal Calbindin-D28k in a Region-Specific Manner and Exacerbates Ischemic Neuronal Damage Exclusively in Non-Calbindinergic Neurons.- 16. Structural Evidence for Direct and Indirect Neuro-Endocrine Interactions in the Human Adrenal Cortex.- 17. Neuroepithelial Bodies in Vertebrate Lungs.- 18. Control of the Release of Plasma Catecholamines.- 19. Lysenin, a Novel Bioactive Protein Isolated from Coelomic Fluid of the Earthworm Eisenia foetida - Structure, Secretion and Biological Activity.- 20. Receptors and Effects of the Inhibitory Neuropeptide Somatostatin in Glial Derivatives.- 21. Specific Glycoproteins of the Subcommissural Organ/Reissner's Fiber Complex: Molecular and Functional Evidence of their Involvement in Developmental Events.- 22. Development and Differentiation of Blood Vessels in the Central Nervous System.- 23. Melatonin Inhibits the PACAP-Induced Phosphorylation of the Transcription Factor CREB in the Rat Suprachiasmatic Nucleus.- 24. Transcription Factors in the Photoneuroendocrine System.- 25. Expression of Nitric Oxide Synthase I Determines the Strength of Adrenergic Cyclic GMP Response in the Rat Pineal Gland.- 26. Noradrenergic and VTPergic Signal Transduction in Rat Pinealocytes.- 27. Morphological Characterization of Rat Pineal Explant Cultures.- 28. Changes in the Three-Dimensional Structure of Synaptic Ribbons in the Pineal Gland of the Guinea-Pig Caused by Constant Light.- 29. Immunocompetent Cells in the Rat Pineal Gland with Special Reference to Macrophages and Dendritic Cells.- 30. Melatonin Synthesis and Calcium Responses in the Pineal Gland of the Trout.- 31. The Work of Ludwig Edinger and His Neurology Institute.