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The benzodiazepine receptor
Neuropsycholoyia,Vol. 27, No 3, pp. 373-375, 1989 Pergamon Press pk. Pnnted in Great Britam.
BOOK REVIEWS
The Benzodiazepine Receptor. By W. E. MULLER. Cambridge
University
Press, New York, 1987, 185 pp., Cloth,
$49.50. CAMBRIDGE University Press has recently launched a new series of monographs aiming at providing “individual accounts of scientific disciplines which constitute the scientific basis of psychiatry”. The book written by Walter E. Muller on benzodiazepine receptors is the third volume in this series. Dr Muller, who has a long experience in benzodiazepine receptorology, has attempted to offer to the nonspecialist a review of the present knowledge on the mechanisms of action of the most commonly used anti-anxiety drugs, the benzodiazepines. The book is organized into three parts. The first part gives a useful review of the general principles of receptor binding techniques. The second part summarizes the evidence for the benzodiazepine binding site as a primary target site for benzodiazepine effects on the central nervous system, and the relationships between benzodiazepine receptors and GABAergic neurotransmission. This section ends up with a short chapter on benzodiazepine receptors in the human brain, showing that the basic properties and distribution of benzodiazepine receptors in human brain are similar to those described in the brain of experimental animals. In the third part, the possible physiological role of the benzodiazepine receptors is discussed together with the various outcomes of the elusive quest for putative endogenous ligands of benzodiazepine receptors. This section ends with a description of the changes in benzodiazepine binding properties observed in human and animals under “pathological” conditions. An annex provides a recipe for a radioreceptor assay which can be used to detect benzodiazepines in biological tissues and a list of references is included. This book suffers from a number of weaknesses in view of its potential audience. For someone interested in benzodiazepine receptor binding and its relevance to benzodiazepine activities, the emphasis on the prevalent view that enhancement of the effect of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA is the major component of benzodiazepine action may appear dogmatic. Although the GABA hypothesis is supported by a wide variety of neurochemical and pharmacological findings, it is by no means exclusive of other target sites for the action of benzodiazepines. From this perspective the reader is clearly missing an overview of the interaction between benzodiazepine and other systems, such as serotonin, adenosine and opioids. For the clinician who would like to understand how the mechanisms of action of anxiDlytics relate to the mechanisms of anxiety, it is unfortunate that this aspect is not even addressed in the book. If benzodiazepines act on symptoms of anxiety rather than on factors involved in the pathogenesis of anxiety, it is unlikely that studies directed at the benzodiazepine receptor level will reveal anything conclusive about the mechanisms of anxiety! If the main objective of the author was to tell the reader that the benzodiazepine receptor is nothing other than another toy for the pharmacologist in quest of new drugs, he has undoubtedly succeeded. R. DANTZER
Endorphins, Opiates and Behavioural Processes. Edited
Chichester,
by R. J. RODGERS and S. J. COOPER. John Wiley & Sons,
1988, 361 pp.
THIRTEENYEARSafter the discovery ofendogenous opioids it seems ofinterest to propose a synthesis of the numerous findings which have been published in this field of research. In this book of 14 chapters major areas ofcontemporary behavioural research on opiates and endogenous opioid systems are examined. An initial overview of the anatomy and biochemistry of endogenous opioid systems, is followed by chapters covering major topics such as: dependence, reinforcement process, tolerance and drug discrimination, environmentally induced analgesia, feeding and drinking, social interaction and attachment, sexual behaviour. exploration, learning and memory, neurobehavioural development, psychiatric disorders. This particular reader however, was somewhat disappointed, because she could not find a critical approach of the possible role of endogenous opioids in the control of pain. Extensive literature on the subject is provided. However, even if the absence ofsome references is understandable in the context of such a book, the lack of important “non-American” references at the end of some chapters is too obvious. As in many books of this kind, the chapters are not of homogeneous quality. This is emphasized by the presentation: some chapters provide “concluding remarks”, others multiple “summaries” or/and a final “summary”, 373
BOOK REVIEWS
The Benzodiazepine Receptor. By W. E. MULLER. Cambridge
University
Press, New York, 1987, 185 pp., Cloth,
$49.50. CAMBRIDGE University Press has recently launched a new series of monographs aiming at providing “individual accounts of scientific disciplines which constitute the scientific basis of psychiatry”. The book written by Walter E. Muller on benzodiazepine receptors is the third volume in this series. Dr Muller, who has a long experience in benzodiazepine receptorology, has attempted to offer to the nonspecialist a review of the present knowledge on the mechanisms of action of the most commonly used anti-anxiety drugs, the benzodiazepines. The book is organized into three parts. The first part gives a useful review of the general principles of receptor binding techniques. The second part summarizes the evidence for the benzodiazepine binding site as a primary target site for benzodiazepine effects on the central nervous system, and the relationships between benzodiazepine receptors and GABAergic neurotransmission. This section ends up with a short chapter on benzodiazepine receptors in the human brain, showing that the basic properties and distribution of benzodiazepine receptors in human brain are similar to those described in the brain of experimental animals. In the third part, the possible physiological role of the benzodiazepine receptors is discussed together with the various outcomes of the elusive quest for putative endogenous ligands of benzodiazepine receptors. This section ends with a description of the changes in benzodiazepine binding properties observed in human and animals under “pathological” conditions. An annex provides a recipe for a radioreceptor assay which can be used to detect benzodiazepines in biological tissues and a list of references is included. This book suffers from a number of weaknesses in view of its potential audience. For someone interested in benzodiazepine receptor binding and its relevance to benzodiazepine activities, the emphasis on the prevalent view that enhancement of the effect of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA is the major component of benzodiazepine action may appear dogmatic. Although the GABA hypothesis is supported by a wide variety of neurochemical and pharmacological findings, it is by no means exclusive of other target sites for the action of benzodiazepines. From this perspective the reader is clearly missing an overview of the interaction between benzodiazepine and other systems, such as serotonin, adenosine and opioids. For the clinician who would like to understand how the mechanisms of action of anxiDlytics relate to the mechanisms of anxiety, it is unfortunate that this aspect is not even addressed in the book. If benzodiazepines act on symptoms of anxiety rather than on factors involved in the pathogenesis of anxiety, it is unlikely that studies directed at the benzodiazepine receptor level will reveal anything conclusive about the mechanisms of anxiety! If the main objective of the author was to tell the reader that the benzodiazepine receptor is nothing other than another toy for the pharmacologist in quest of new drugs, he has undoubtedly succeeded. R. DANTZER
Endorphins, Opiates and Behavioural Processes. Edited
Chichester,
by R. J. RODGERS and S. J. COOPER. John Wiley & Sons,
1988, 361 pp.
THIRTEENYEARSafter the discovery ofendogenous opioids it seems ofinterest to propose a synthesis of the numerous findings which have been published in this field of research. In this book of 14 chapters major areas ofcontemporary behavioural research on opiates and endogenous opioid systems are examined. An initial overview of the anatomy and biochemistry of endogenous opioid systems, is followed by chapters covering major topics such as: dependence, reinforcement process, tolerance and drug discrimination, environmentally induced analgesia, feeding and drinking, social interaction and attachment, sexual behaviour. exploration, learning and memory, neurobehavioural development, psychiatric disorders. This particular reader however, was somewhat disappointed, because she could not find a critical approach of the possible role of endogenous opioids in the control of pain. Extensive literature on the subject is provided. However, even if the absence ofsome references is understandable in the context of such a book, the lack of important “non-American” references at the end of some chapters is too obvious. As in many books of this kind, the chapters are not of homogeneous quality. This is emphasized by the presentation: some chapters provide “concluding remarks”, others multiple “summaries” or/and a final “summary”, 373