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Psycho-pharmacology, from theory to practice
XIV rel,-aatn ur.an.~wered than answered in .~ptte of year., of research efforts. The hehavioural s~imuli induced altera~io,~ in thz synthes~ of brain proteins serve to dem mstrate the plasticity of neural macrotool .cular metabolism. The third section discusses drug and hor:nona! ~nflcences on brain protei:ls. A short accoant is also given of the macromolecular alter ations m:derlying the neuropa.hies. A nov. ur, ique diagnostic method for brain caalignaracies has been described which ts 19ased on immunological propert!es of a polypeplide produceJ by tu,'n.~ur c..:I',:,. Th~s last section is the shcrtest t,ne and several pathological aspects of brair, proteins and theh" metaboli,m hax e rem'~i~ed untouched. In an obvious effort to reduce costs of p~i.',ting tte publisher has reproduced the ar(tcles di-'ectly from the manuscripts of th: auxhors. Unlbrtunalely, there are inconsistenc es in their format antl ~lle o~t:rall qt:ality oI" some manuscripts has m , been as good as one may ~ish. As a whole, the book in questiort is a positive exception among the symposiom procecdings which often tend Io produce a rather fragmented elucidation of their topic. Thi~ book gives an excellent review of the ~:atus of the present knowledge in spite of its numerous authors and differeJ~ces in their style of writing. A lot of un[ubli,hed results have ;~1~o been inctt,led in add.tion to rccertly pul:lished ma~eria, thus giving a very up-to-date impression, s. ~. OJA ,°ro~i'~.~,~r S. S, Oju i~ fi'om the Departr:ent of [~h ncdical Sc.'ences o]the University of T~'mpere. t it,. arid.
T I N S - September 1978
Brain energy in depth Brain Energy Metabolism
brain indaced by changes in pH and
by B K. SiesjO, John 14'i/ev & Sons, Chichester, New York, Brtsbane and Toronto, 1978. £17.50 (.vii + 607 pages) P, 471 99515 0
temperature, and by anaesthesia, analgesia, sleep, stress, seizures, hypogly. caemia, hypoxia, and ischaemia. These chapters make a really valuable and rare contribution to the literature in this field because the author uses a com-
It is as important in Science as in Politics to declare one's interest and it is only fair to point out that the reviewer helped stimulate the author to write this book, Any hesitation about reviewing it evaporated when I found to my relief that ! liked the book very much indeed, its main strength derives from the fact that it is a single author work: a personal account has a theme and a continuity usually absent from multi-author compi!ations. Yet it avoids one po~.entiai d~sadvantage, i.e. that such fields are too comprehensive to be covered satisfactorily by one person. The amount of detail and the depth of coverage are most impressive. The first section of the book (chapters 1-6) deals thoroughly with general principles of intermediary metabolisrn and of thermodynamics v, ith particular emphasis on aspects of these which specifically relate to mechanisms of energy production and utilization. The amount of detail here is perhaps unnecessary for the biochemically-orientated reader but ~as its rightful place in a book clearly directed towards a wider aadience. After one chap:er on techniques (chapter 7) the remaining eight eh~.pters are de. voted to thoughtful discussions on the relationship of energy metabolism to changes in the functional state of the
From basics to, c l i n i c a l . . . P~,y~ho.pharmacology, From Theory to Practice
chemical and electrophysiological aspects of the normal brain; faremost among the edsted br,l. D. ~archas, P. A. Berger, R. D. biochemical topics is the discussion of C k r a , e l l o and G. R. ~'lliot, O.~ford 'neuroregulators', a term comprising comU.,z'vers/iv Press, New Yo"k, 1977. £7.50 pounds which are likely to be transmitters and o:hers presun:ed to be modulators (569 pages) 0 19 502214 9 of impulses. A ch~.pter on soclopharmaThis book is unusual in that it addresses cology reminds u; that environmental itself to the clinician, but precedes the conditions and the present state of the clinical chapters by a careful and critical subject can contribute decisively to the surxey of the biochemical and pharma- effect of drugs. cological actions of the drug.~ used in The clinical chap:ers show the interplay mentJI disease, abnormal mental" states between therapeuti,: effects of drugs and produced by drug abuse, and selected the emergence of theories about the psychological or neurological disorders. causation of mental disease. The amine It is wPtten by a group of 27 authors of tho:'~ries of mental disease are discussed which the major!ty work at Stanford wit"fi the necessary ¢iegree of caution which University or in Palo Alto, a fact that is essential, if progress in understanding is facilitated the integration of the indivi- not ~, be blocked by too ready an acdual chapters into a coherent book. The c e p t ace of an att:active theory. After a introductory chapters deal with bio- presentation of the : heoretical background,
bined physiological and biochemical approach to the problem of relating metabolism to overall cerebral function. Though much of the evidence is taken from in vivo work, adequate reference is made to relevant studies in vitro. The section on oxygen is especially good: the author has courageously tackled, with sensitive critical acumen, the very difficult
problems of oxygen transport and availability. The only disappointment of the whole book, to me, was too little emphasis on the role of oxygen in amine metabolism and ! think it is incorrect to call the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases "'mixed function oxidases". This is a very minor criticism and in no way detracts from an excellent book in which the author has fulfilled his objectives most admirably. The writing is clear and unambiguous, the illustrations many and attractive, and the work is thoroughly referenced, it should find its place on the bookshelves of mos~. neurobiologists and of many clinicians involved in treating pati,.~nts with aberrant cerebral metabolism. H.s. BACHELARD H. A. Bachelard is shortly lec,~ing the Biochemistry Department of the University of Bath to take up a Chair at St. Thomas" Hospi.tal, London, U.K.
the treatment of each disease is set out in practical detail, side effects are discussed, and points of uncertainty indicated. Treatment is outlined not only for the major psychoses, but for states of anxiety or aggressiveness, for syndromes produced by drug abuse, and for specific disorders of childhood and old age. The collaboration of authors with practical experience with others whose background is theoretical and experimental gives this book its unusual quality This should make it equally useful to the inquisitive practitioner and to the pharmacologist or biochemist who would like to know how his theoretical expectations fare when tested on the suffering patient. ~or the sake of readability, the number of references attached to each chapter is kept quite small. M. VOGT M. Vogt, F.R.S., does her research at the A.R.C. Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge, U.K.
T I N S - September 1978
Brain energy in depth Brain Energy Metabolism
brain indaced by changes in pH and
by B K. SiesjO, John 14'i/ev & Sons, Chichester, New York, Brtsbane and Toronto, 1978. £17.50 (.vii + 607 pages) P, 471 99515 0
temperature, and by anaesthesia, analgesia, sleep, stress, seizures, hypogly. caemia, hypoxia, and ischaemia. These chapters make a really valuable and rare contribution to the literature in this field because the author uses a com-
It is as important in Science as in Politics to declare one's interest and it is only fair to point out that the reviewer helped stimulate the author to write this book, Any hesitation about reviewing it evaporated when I found to my relief that ! liked the book very much indeed, its main strength derives from the fact that it is a single author work: a personal account has a theme and a continuity usually absent from multi-author compi!ations. Yet it avoids one po~.entiai d~sadvantage, i.e. that such fields are too comprehensive to be covered satisfactorily by one person. The amount of detail and the depth of coverage are most impressive. The first section of the book (chapters 1-6) deals thoroughly with general principles of intermediary metabolisrn and of thermodynamics v, ith particular emphasis on aspects of these which specifically relate to mechanisms of energy production and utilization. The amount of detail here is perhaps unnecessary for the biochemically-orientated reader but ~as its rightful place in a book clearly directed towards a wider aadience. After one chap:er on techniques (chapter 7) the remaining eight eh~.pters are de. voted to thoughtful discussions on the relationship of energy metabolism to changes in the functional state of the
From basics to, c l i n i c a l . . . P~,y~ho.pharmacology, From Theory to Practice
chemical and electrophysiological aspects of the normal brain; faremost among the edsted br,l. D. ~archas, P. A. Berger, R. D. biochemical topics is the discussion of C k r a , e l l o and G. R. ~'lliot, O.~ford 'neuroregulators', a term comprising comU.,z'vers/iv Press, New Yo"k, 1977. £7.50 pounds which are likely to be transmitters and o:hers presun:ed to be modulators (569 pages) 0 19 502214 9 of impulses. A ch~.pter on soclopharmaThis book is unusual in that it addresses cology reminds u; that environmental itself to the clinician, but precedes the conditions and the present state of the clinical chapters by a careful and critical subject can contribute decisively to the surxey of the biochemical and pharma- effect of drugs. cological actions of the drug.~ used in The clinical chap:ers show the interplay mentJI disease, abnormal mental" states between therapeuti,: effects of drugs and produced by drug abuse, and selected the emergence of theories about the psychological or neurological disorders. causation of mental disease. The amine It is wPtten by a group of 27 authors of tho:'~ries of mental disease are discussed which the major!ty work at Stanford wit"fi the necessary ¢iegree of caution which University or in Palo Alto, a fact that is essential, if progress in understanding is facilitated the integration of the indivi- not ~, be blocked by too ready an acdual chapters into a coherent book. The c e p t ace of an att:active theory. After a introductory chapters deal with bio- presentation of the : heoretical background,
bined physiological and biochemical approach to the problem of relating metabolism to overall cerebral function. Though much of the evidence is taken from in vivo work, adequate reference is made to relevant studies in vitro. The section on oxygen is especially good: the author has courageously tackled, with sensitive critical acumen, the very difficult
problems of oxygen transport and availability. The only disappointment of the whole book, to me, was too little emphasis on the role of oxygen in amine metabolism and ! think it is incorrect to call the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases "'mixed function oxidases". This is a very minor criticism and in no way detracts from an excellent book in which the author has fulfilled his objectives most admirably. The writing is clear and unambiguous, the illustrations many and attractive, and the work is thoroughly referenced, it should find its place on the bookshelves of mos~. neurobiologists and of many clinicians involved in treating pati,.~nts with aberrant cerebral metabolism. H.s. BACHELARD H. A. Bachelard is shortly lec,~ing the Biochemistry Department of the University of Bath to take up a Chair at St. Thomas" Hospi.tal, London, U.K.
the treatment of each disease is set out in practical detail, side effects are discussed, and points of uncertainty indicated. Treatment is outlined not only for the major psychoses, but for states of anxiety or aggressiveness, for syndromes produced by drug abuse, and for specific disorders of childhood and old age. The collaboration of authors with practical experience with others whose background is theoretical and experimental gives this book its unusual quality This should make it equally useful to the inquisitive practitioner and to the pharmacologist or biochemist who would like to know how his theoretical expectations fare when tested on the suffering patient. ~or the sake of readability, the number of references attached to each chapter is kept quite small. M. VOGT M. Vogt, F.R.S., does her research at the A.R.C. Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge, U.K.