Amino Acid Availability and Brain Function in Health and Disease (Nato ASI Subseries H:, 20)

The picture on the following page is being reproduced here, at the request of the partici­ pants in the Advanced Research Workshop "Amino Acid Availability and Brain Function in Health and Disease". I displayed this limewood carving, entitled "Neurochemistry", during my closing remarks to this extraordinarily stimulating and productive workshop so ably organized by my collaborator Dr. Gerald Huether. We scientists need two sturdy legs to carry us through all the twists and turns of our academic careers. We should also have, as it were, a reserve leg handy, to help us stay upright when this career ends. My "third leg" is wood carving. The idea for "Neurochemis­ try" came to me in the plane carrying me to the congress of the International Neuro­ chemical Society in Jerusalem. We need the hands for our meticulous experimental work, and at least one ear to listen to the messages our neurons send us. A few years ago it would have been premature to hold a workshop on this subject. Now, however, the time was just right to allow an overview of the status of current re­ search, and to point out the promising new openings it has created. There is no doubt that the book to be published as a result of this workshop will be, for the next years at least, the standard text on the subject. Hearty thanks to all speakers for their brilliant con­ tributions and to all participants for the lively, uninhibited and stimulating discussion. Front Matter....Pages I-XVIII Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Nutritional & Metabolic Control of Brain Amino Acid Concentrations....Pages 3-12 Essential Nature of the “Dispensable” Amino Acids and Their Possible Influence on the Development and Function of the Brain, with a Note on the Question of Whether the Fetus Really Concentrates Amino Acids from the Mother’s Blood....Pages 13-19 The Importance of the Liver as a Regulator of Amino Acid Supply to the Brain....Pages 21-28 Bioavailability of Amino Acids and Amino Acid Precursors for Neurotransmitter Action: The Role of Hormones....Pages 29-37 Feeding, Stress, Exercise and the Supply of Amino Acids to the Brain....Pages 39-49 Back Matter....Pages 51-54 Front Matter....Pages 55-55 Regulation of Amino Acid Transport at the Blood-Brain Barrier....Pages 57-68 Enzymes of the Cerebrovascular Endothelium; Possible Relevance to the Interpretation of Precursor-Loading Experiments....Pages 69-79 Dynamics of the Cellular and Extracellular Compartment of Brain Amino Acids — Visions and Reality of the Dialysis Approach....Pages 81-90 Glial Cells as Metabolic Regulators of Neurons....Pages 91-100 Uptake and Release of Amino Acids from Synaptosomes....Pages 101-110 Back Matter....Pages 111-113 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 Pprocesses That Couple Amino Acid Availability to Neurotransmitter Synthesis and Release....Pages 117-136 Tryptophan Availability and Serotonin Synthesis in Brain....Pages 137-146 Disproportionate Amino Acid Diets and Anorexic Responses in Rats: The Role(s) of Limbic Brain Areas and Noradrenergic and Serotoninergic Systems....Pages 147-157 Effects of Tryptophan Administration on the Synthesis, Storage and Metabolism of Serotonin in the Hypothalamus of Normal and Raphe-Stimulated Rats....Pages 159-166 Amino Acid Availability and Control of Histaminergic Systems In the Brain....Pages 167-173 Back Matter....Pages 175-179 Front Matter....Pages 181-181 The Relationship of the Synthesis and Metabolism of Catecholamines to Brain Function....Pages 183-189 Precursor Availability and Function of Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons....Pages 191-200 Modification of Synthesis, Release, and Function of Catecholaminergic Systems by Phenylalanine....Pages 201-206 Monoamines and Seizures in Genetically Epilepsy-Prone Rats: Inferences from Precursor Availability....Pages 207-214 Regulation of Neurotransmitter Amino Acid Fluxes by Excitatory Amino Acid Receptors in Different Neural Cell Types in Culture....Pages 215-224 Back Matter....Pages 225-236 Front Matter....Pages 237-237 Role of Amino Acids in Appetite Control in Man....Pages 239-248 Amino Acids in the Regulation of Food Intake and Selection....Pages 249-257 Control of Eating Behaviour by Amino Acid Supply....Pages 259-266 Tryptophan Availability in Humans: Effects on Mood and Behavior....Pages 267-274 Dietary Manipulation of Serotonin and Behaviour....Pages 275-283 Neuroendocrine Responses to Tryptophan as an Index of Brain Serotonin Function....Pages 285-290 Stress, Amino Acids and the Behavioural Effects of Drugs....Pages 291-298 Behavioral and Cognitive Effects of Altered Tryptophan and Tyrosine Supply....Pages 299-308 Back Matter....Pages 309-322 Front Matter....Pages 323-323 Excitatory Amino Acids in Epilepsy and in Acute and Chronic Neuronal Degenerative Disorders....Pages 325-332 Cerebral Capillary Amino Acid Uptake and Membrane Fluidity in Hepatic Encephalopathy....Pages 333-343 Amino Acid Therapy in Neurological Disease....Pages 345-353 Tryptophan and Tyrosine Ratios to Neutral Amino Acids in Depressed Patients in Regard to K m : Relation to Efficacy of Antidepressant Treatments....Pages 355-361 Serine Metabolism, beta-Carbolines and Psychoses....Pages 363-370 Brain Monoamine Oxidase B Activity and Amino Acid Precursor Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, Depression and Epilepsy....Pages 371-379 Back Matter....Pages 381-389 Front Matter....Pages 391-391 Developmental Changes in Cerebral Amino Acids and Protein Metabolism....Pages 393-402 Blood-Brain Amino Acid Transport During Development....Pages 403-409 Nutrition and Selective Accumulation Processes Establish the Free Amino Acid Pool of Developing Chick Embryo Brain....Pages 411-420 Consequences of Experimental Modulations of Amino Acid Availability during Brain Development....Pages 421-429 Neurotransmitters and Early Embryogenesis....Pages 431-439 Role of Excitatory Amino Acids in the Development of Cerebellar Granule Neurones....Pages 441-448 Back Matter....Pages 465-468 Front Matter....Pages 391-391 Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid as a Neurotrophic Agent....Pages 449-456 Role of Taurine in Brain Development and Vision....Pages 457-464 Back Matter....Pages 465-468 Back Matter....Pages 469-489 This survey of the present state-of-the-art and of the most recent developments in the field of amino acid availability and brain physiology provides more than 40 contributions by leading scientists. Seven interrelated chapters cover following topics: - peripheral control of brain amino acid supply; - uptake, compartimentation, and utilization of brain amino acids; - influence of an altered precursor amino acid supply: - on transmitter metabolism, - on functional neurotransmission and - on physiology and behaviour; - impact of an altered amino acid supply in neurologic and psychiatric diseases, and - the role of amino acid availability during embryogenesis and brain development.