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This book collects all the lectures presented during the NATO
Advanced Study Institute on "Photoreception and Sensory
Transduction in Aneura1 Organisms," held in Villa Le Pianore
(Versi1ia, Italy), September 3-14, 1979. In order to publish the
lectures in the shortest possible time, we had to make the decision
not to include the free communications, the informal seminars, and
the panel discussions, notwithstanding their very high scientific
level and interest. Only the final panel discussion has been
summarized by Prof. W. Haupt (whose effort we gratefully
acknowledge), because it gives a comprehensive view of the state of
the art in this field. The ASI was intended to be a high-level
course, characterized by an interdisciplinary approach to the
problem of photoreception and photosensory physiology in aneural
organisms, bringing together scientists from different fields and
specializations. We hope that these characteristics are reflected
in the content of the book, which is meant to be both an advanced
textbook for researchers and students entering the field and a
critical overview of the problems of photosensory transduction in
aneura1 organisms. The topics pre sented range from a
phenomenological description of the different photomotile responses
in various microorganisms to a discussion of the molecular
processes involved in the primary events of photo reception as well
as in the subsequent steps of the transduction chain."
The main purpose of this book is to unify approaches and ideas in
the field of aneural sensory transduction. This field has recently
come to the attention of several research groups in various
disciplines, and their number seems to be growing. Unfortunately,
because of the diverse scientific backgrounds of the researchers in
the field, the apparent heterogeneity of experimental techniques
(i. e., behavioral response analysis, sophisticated biochemical and
genetic manipulations, conventional and pulsed laser spectroscopy)
and theoretical approaches may be discouraging, for both the
experienced worker and the new comer. Actually, this heterogeneity
is more apparent than real, and unifying concepts, approaches, and
ideas already exist, particularly with respect to all the questions
concerning the role of membranes and their properties (such as ion
permeability, electric potentials, and active transport) in the
various steps of sensory perception and transduction processes. It
is currently accepted that most, if not all, the fundamental facts
in molecular sensory physiology of aneural organisms, be they
chemosensory, photosensory, or geosensory, can ultimately be
understood in terms of a few basic ideas. Each chapter of this book
emphasizes and clarifies the role of mem brane properties and
phenomena in the particular sensory response examined. Of course,
in some cases, this task has been rather complex because of the
limited amount of experimental data clearly supporting a
membrane-based model of sensory transduction."
This book is based on the lectures given at the NATO Advanced Study
Institute on "Sensory Perception and Transduction in Aneural
Organisms" held in Volterra (Pisa. Italy) from the third to the
fourteenth of September. 1984. The Advanced Study Institute was
planned as a high level course dealing with several aspects and
problems of sensory perception and transduction of diverse
environmental stimuli in aneural organisms. Scientists from
different fields and cultural backgrounds were present at the
meeting. both as lecturers and as students. The lectures and the
discussions that followed represented a well integrated interdisci
plinary approach to the questions considered. At the end of the
Advanced Study Institute course. it was quite clear that. notwith
standing the apparent heterogeneity of the topics dealt with.
unifying concepts and ideas already existed, among the most
important being the role of membranes and their physicochemical
properties. All this should be reflected in the content of this
book. We gratefully acknowledge the financial sponsorship of the
Scientific Affairs Division of NATO (Brussels), that made both the
Advanced Study Institute on "Sensory Perception and Transduction in
Aneural Organisms" and this book possible. Finally. we are also
indebted to Ms. Pat Parham Morgan who expertly retyped all the
chapters of the book and Ms. Leslie Schmidt of Plenum Publishing
Co. provided us valuable advice and suggestions on the preparation
of this book. G. Colombetti F. Lenci P. S."
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