It is the goal of The Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors to provide acomprehensive and forward-thinking review ofthe tremen- dous advances that have occurred in less than a decade of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) research. Virtually every areaof mGluR research is covered, including the molecular biology, pharmacology, anatomical distribution, and physiological and pathological roles of mGluRs. It is our intention that this volume not only summarize what is now known about the mGluRs, but also illuminate the areas in which there is the greatest need for focused research. Glutamic acid is an amino acid that has long been known to play several important metabolic roles in central and peripheral tissues and to be a component of several naturally occurring molecules. The first evidence that glutamate mayaIso serve as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS) came in the late 1950s and early 1960s when glutamate and other acidic amino acids were found to induce behavioral convulsions when topically applied to the cortex and to excite a wide variety of central neurons. These findings spurred a massive research effort that quickly established glutamate as the pri- mary excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate CNS. One of the most striking characteristics of glutamate that was quickly recognized was its ubiquitous role in serving as the neurotransmitter at the vast majority of excitatory synapses in the brain. It is now clear that most central neuronal circuits involve glutamatergic neurotransmission at some level.

Neuroscience's inherent complexity and rapid growth mean that no one can keep abreast of all the changes across the field. We each bring a necessarily narrow perspective. Neurotherapeutics: Emerg ing Strategies is an attempt to provide some diverse perspectives within the hunt for new drugs to treat central nervous system diseases. The book's premise is that the search for new drugs is based on an understanding ofboth clinical and basic sciences. Neurotherapeu tics: Emerging Strategies begins with psychiatry and concludes with neurological disorders. Each chapter examines a disease, including clinical features and existing treatments, but the emphasis is on current concepts of underlying causes and novel strategies for drug discovery arising from these possible mechanisms. Participating authors include basic neuroscientists, industry-based pharmacolo gists and chemists, and clinicians. The chapters describe the status of the existing disease treat ments, and when treatments are lacking, the approach is more basic science oriented. When there is a long history of treatment, there is greater emphasis on those therapies. However, all the chapters seem to reflect the benefits of cloning, since the availability of receptor subtypes now promises the opportunity for greater specificity of drug effects. Modulation of second messengers is another new and recur ring theme. And in the chapter on cachexia, cytokines are explored both as drugs and drug targets. Neurotherapeutics: Emerging Strategies reflects the complex ity of the nervous system, but the overriding message is hope for new and better drugs to treat those diseases that rob us of ourselves."

Neuroscience's inherent complexity and rapid growth mean that no one can keep abreast of all the changes across the field. We each bring a necessarily narrow perspective. Neurotherapeutics: Emerg ing Strategies is an attempt to provide some diverse perspectives within the hunt for new drugs to treat central nervous system diseases. The book's premise is that the search for new drugs is based on an understanding ofboth clinical and basic sciences. Neurotherapeu tics: Emerging Strategies begins with psychiatry and concludes with neurological disorders. Each chapter examines a disease, including clinical features and existing treatments, but the emphasis is on current concepts of underlying causes and novel strategies for drug discovery arising from these possible mechanisms. Participating authors include basic neuroscientists, industry-based pharmacolo gists and chemists, and clinicians. The chapters describe the status of the existing disease treat ments, and when treatments are lacking, the approach is more basic science oriented. When there is a long history of treatment, there is greater emphasis on those therapies. However, all the chapters seem to reflect the benefits of cloning, since the availability of receptor subtypes now promises the opportunity for greater specificity of drug effects. Modulation of second messengers is another new and recur ring theme. And in the chapter on cachexia, cytokines are explored both as drugs and drug targets. Neurotherapeutics: Emerging Strategies reflects the complex ity of the nervous system, but the overriding message is hope for new and better drugs to treat those diseases that rob us of ourselves.

It is the goal of The Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors to provide acomprehensive and forward-thinking review ofthe tremen- dous advances that have occurred in less than a decade of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) research. Virtually every areaof mGluR research is covered, including the molecular biology, pharmacology, anatomical distribution, and physiological and pathological roles of mGluRs. It is our intention that this volume not only summarize what is now known about the mGluRs, but also illuminate the areas in which there is the greatest need for focused research. Glutamic acid is an amino acid that has long been known to play several important metabolic roles in central and peripheral tissues and to be a component of several naturally occurring molecules. The first evidence that glutamate mayaIso serve as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS) came in the late 1950s and early 1960s when glutamate and other acidic amino acids were found to induce behavioral convulsions when topically applied to the cortex and to excite a wide variety of central neurons. These findings spurred a massive research effort that quickly established glutamate as the pri- mary excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate CNS. One of the most striking characteristics of glutamate that was quickly recognized was its ubiquitous role in serving as the neurotransmitter at the vast majority of excitatory synapses in the brain. It is now clear that most central neuronal circuits involve glutamatergic neurotransmission at some level.