FASEB J. Cell Migration Consortium
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bloom, F. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bloom, F. E.

The FASEB Journal, Vol 2, 32-41, Copyright © 1988 by The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

REVIEWS

Neurotransmitters: past, present, and future directions

FE Bloom
Department of Basic and Clinical Research, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, California 92037.

As originally conceived, central neurotransmitters operated uniformly, exciting or inhibiting postsynaptic targets by receptors that activated passive ionic conductances. As the list of transmitter substances and their actions expanded, concepts of transmitter actions have broadened and grown more complex to include a variety of intramembranous and intracytoplasmic second messengers that can regulate both active and passive ionic conductances. Present-day research directions center on further expansion of the lists of identified transmitter candidates, and on the more precise characterization of their sites and mechanisms of receptor regulation and transduction. Current research is also illuminating the means by which neurotransmitters act in a coordinated fashion to regulate common synaptic targets. Future directions will likely include new forms of interneuronal, intraneuronal, and glial signals, including lipids, steroids, and as-yet-undiscovered superfamilies of peptides and receptors. Although recent advances in understanding specific transmitters have been achieved largely through in vitro electrophysiological analyses, it is hoped that future research will recast these events in the context of the intact functioning brain. Neurotransmitters are likely to remain a productive focus of future research.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther.Home page
J. Meng, C. J. Malanga, J.-Q. Kong, D. A. Taylor, and W. W. Fleming
Hyperpolarizing Effects of Morphine, Clonidine and 2-Chloroadenosine in Myenteric Neurons Associated with Tolerance to Morphine
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., April 1, 1997; 281(1): 41 - 47.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
R. Llinas
The intrinsic electrophysiological properties of mammalian neurons: insights into central nervous system function
Science, December 23, 1988; 242(4886): 1654 - 1664.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
G. Koob and F. Bloom
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of drug dependence
Science, November 4, 1988; 242(4879): 715 - 723.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
R. Nicoll
The coupling of neurotransmitter receptors to ion channels in the brain
Science, July 29, 1988; 241(4865): 545 - 551.
[Abstract] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1988 by The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.