The blood-brain barrier is still not completely understood and therefore the subject of fascinating study. How are endogenous substances transported through the blood-brain barrier? What are the known therapeutic and toxic agents? How are they transported across cerebral microvessels? The discussion of these and other questions with far-reaching consequences for all neuroscientists can be found in this volume. This authoritative and up-to-date review of the blood-brain barrier gives a proper understanding of the topic. The experimental principles, the results of very recent research, as well as the implications that experimental research has for clinical treatment are thoroughly covered. Information is given on: - new findings based on classical physiological and pharmacological techniques, - results obtained from brain capillaries in vitro and in culture, - results obtained from the new scanning techniques (PET and MRI), - the immunology of the blood-brain barrier, - trace metal transport, - the pathological breakdown of the barrier and - the modification of drugs to increase their entry into the brain. Here is a source of information that is invaluable to specialists concerned with basic research in the neurosciences, with the design of neuropharmacological agents, with the radiological diagnosis of cerebral pathology or with the treatment of cerebral lesions!

Substance-related disorders pose an increasing challenge not only to the field of psychiatry but also to public health. The rapid development of our society has also changed the face of substance use and abuse, both quantitatively and qualitatively. In this volume international experts present reviews of the latest research covering many areas ranging from neurobiology to psychological management, as well as different drugs, from alcohol to ecstasy.

The 5th Neuropsychiatry Symposium of the European Institute of Health- care was devoted to neuropsychopharmacology. As in previous meetings, we sought to choose topics that bridge the gap between basic neuroscience and the clinical fields of neurology and psychiatry. Consequently, the pro- ceedings published in this supplement cover a lot of ground. Late breaking data on various neuromodulator and neurotransmitter systems and their implications for the treatment of a number of disorders are reviewed. Jean- Charles Schwartz and colleagues set the stage with their paper on constitu- tive receptor activity, using the histamine H3-receptor to illustrate the point. The role of neuropeptides and neurotrophins in psychiatric disorders is then reviewed by Florian Holsboer, while Bill Deakin elucidates the role of sero- tonin, discovered 50 years ago in the brain, in select psychiatric syndromes. New pharmacological developments in the treatment of migraine, Parkin- son's disease and schizophrenia are then presented by Hans Christoph Diener, Eduardo Tolosa and Wolfgang Fleischhacker. In the end David Nutt and colleagues provide future directions in substance dependence research, linking the role of various transmitter systems with findings from neu- roimaging studies. In summary, there is no doubt that progress in the field of neuropsychopharmacology is exciting and the prospects of true advances in the treatment of brain disorders are very promising.