Understanding Neurotransmit-ters Is Key to New Drug R&D

摘要

Today it is common knowledge that nerves communicate by chemical release using neurotransmitters. In the past, however, some scientists held a different opinion. Pharmacologists and neurophysiologists waged an ongoing battle. Neurophysiologists did not accept the fact that chemical release would be quick enough to activate skeletal muscles. They believed that electrical transmission was the only explanation, and they refuted the theory that nerve impulses at brain synapses were innervated by any form of chemical secretion. Two fascinating recent books cover all the details of this controversy.