Adrenergic Activators and Inhibitors on the Central Nervous System

Abstract

The tremendous work of the recent years on the catecholamines of the central nervous system rendered necessary the contribution of several authors to this chapter; it was subdivided in sections and those regulatory functions were considered in which catecholamines seem to be involved. Sections concerning the regulation of the catecholamine biosynthesis by receptors as well as the interaction between catecholamines and opiates were also included because of their great importance and actuality. On the other hand, the size of this chapter had to be kept in a reasonable relationship to the size of the whole volume. To achieve this without neglecting a thorough literature review, only those regulatory functions were included which have been intersively examined in the past few years.