Planaria: A Model for Drug Action and Abuse (Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit)

The study of drug action has benefitted greatly from the development and use of in vivo model systems. In model systems, manipulations and observations can be more rigorously controlled and screens of novel therapeutic agents can be more safely conducted. No single model system provides all of the possible advantages. At one end, mammalian models allow the study of complex behavioral patterns and the most complex of cognitive functioning. At the other end, models using simple organisms such as C. elegans allow the application of the most sophisticated and recent molecular biology and other inn Planaria : short introduction / Robert B. Raffa Brain and neural networks / Kaneyasu Nishimura ... [et al.] Gene expression in the brain and central nervous system in planarians / Katsuhiko Mineta, Kazuho Ikeo and Takashi Gojobori Catecholamines in planaria / Antonio Carolei, Irene Ciancarelli and Giorgio Venturini Opioids in planaria / Antonio Carolei, Marco Colasanti and Giorgio Venturini Nitric oxide in lower invertebrates / Marco Colasanti and Giorgio Venturini Second messenger systems in planaria / Scott M. Rawls Planaria as model in drug abuse research / Robert B. Raffa Physical dependence and withdrawal in planarians / Robert B. Raffa Drug combinations and isoboles / Ronald J. Tallarida Analysis of behavior in the planarian model / Cindy L. Nicolas, Charles I. Abramson and Michael Levin The planarian regeneration model as a context for the study of drug effects and mechanisms / Nøstor J. Oviedo and Michael Levin. This book provides background about the historical development of the state-of-the-art of research into drug action and drug abuse using planarians. It also provides insight into future possibilities for creative research into questions of other issues, such as learning and memory and regeneration.