title: Chapter 54: the discovery of neurotransmitters, and applications to neurology.
abstract: The theory of chemical transmission has proved to be a powerful tool in the analysis of many aspects of neurological function, and its implications loom large on the horizon of neurology and psychiatry. Neurotransmitters are released at neuronal endings, diffuse rapidly across the synaptic cleft, and then act upon receptor proteins embedded in the membrane of the post-synaptic neuron or gland. Drugs are evaluated for their ability to stimulate or to block specific receptors, and in that way modify activity of the postsynaptic organ in order to achieve some desirable therapeutic effect. This chapter is concerned with our knowledge of some of the principal neurotransmitters, namely the primary amines: dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin; the quaternary amine: acetylcholine; and the aminoacids: gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamic acid and glycine. The historical background to the discovery of these molecules as physiological neurotransmitters is presented, and their relation to various clinical states is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. theodore.sourkes@mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Theodore L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Sourkes
mesh_terms: D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009462:Neurology / Q000266:history*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents