Receptors [Paperback]

Richard Restak M.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0553374419 | ISBN-13: 978-0553374414

What if there were a pill that could change you from an introvert to the exuberant extrovert you always wanted to be?  A capsule to make you more assertive, creative, or intelligent?  What is you could "design" your own brain?  Who would you be? Only a few years ago such possibilities seemed the stuff of science fiction, but in today's laboratory remarkable new advances in brain research are making such transformations a reality.  In Receptors,  famed neuropsychiatrist Richard Restek leads us on an exhilarating--and sometimes disquieting--scientific adventure into this bold new frontier. He shows us how break-through discoveries are enabling neuroscientists to decode the mysteries of the human brain, holding out the exciting possibility of relieving, and ultimately even curing, conditions such as memory loss, depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's, and even Alzheimer's disease.  He documents the likelihood that in the very near future, it will be possible to alter our own brains, to choose the personality we want.  How we cope with such godlike power is one of the fascinating questions he poses in this challenging and thought-provoking book. From the levitating ointments of medieval "witches" to the magic mushrooms of southern Mexico, from the LSD of the psychedelic age to the latest discoveries of today's psychopharmacologists, Dr. Restak provides a vivid and lucid account of humanity's unceasing effort to understand and harness the powers of the mind--and the possibility that solutions to some of the brain's deepest mysteries may be close at hand.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Restak here gives new meaning to the term "designer drugs." A noted neurologist and author of The Brain and The Mind , he outlines advances in our understanding of the brain's chemical processes that, while holding great promise for the relief of mental illness, also suggest provocative possibilities for the refashioning of personality. Focusing on the role of neurotransmitters, which relay messages from neurons to receptors, he chronicles experiments and discoveries in the field of brain chemistry of the last half-century. Restak, who has long listened to Prozac and other mind-altering drugs, provides a lucid, balanced and helpful history of the steps leading us to this new frontier.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Although his informative book deals primarily with the receptors for neurotransmitters in the brain, Restak frequently makes the point that the brain functions and must be thought of as a whole. He lays clear groundwork for his technical subject with a discussion of the three levels of the brain and its fundamental physiology. Basic to his approach is the chemical relationship between many hallucinogenic plants and the neurotransmitters in the brain, and he makes his points lucidly, often through using helpful analogies. What with their work on the classification of narcotic and stimulating drugs, LSD, and lithium, such scientists as Louis Lewin, John Cade, and Albert Hofmann already appear as curious and imaginative human beings, but Restak shows how their specialty has been crucial to the study of neurotransmitters, as has been research (to which Restak devotes considerable space) into the two "most addictive" drugs--cocaine and amphetamines--for what it has shown investigators about the workings of the brain. Looking into the future, Restak sees more work along the lines that led to the characterization and localization of the receptor for marijuana. William Beatty --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553374419
• ISBN-13: 978-0553374414
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,256,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Can This be Out of Print?, February 19, 2002

By 

M. D. MCGINLEY "Chief Highliner" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Receptors (Paperback)

"Receptors" by Richard M. Restak, M.D., with a section for further readings, is an excellent text about the then new brain research (1994), when both doctors and scientists were beginning to discover and disclose specific actions of the brain's neurotransmitters and the broad effects on the body. Dr. Restak explains in technical, yet easy-to-understand terminology the critical functions of dopamine projection, serotonin projection, in addition acetylcholine projection in the brain--and what it all means to you and I. Part I covers subjects such as "Disordered Thought, Disordered Molecule" (Chapter 1), and chapter 3, "Magic Intoxicants". From there, he moves through other important material to "Clasping the Neuron" and "The Anatomy of Melancholy" at Chapters 6 and 7, respectively.

"At every level these messengers and receptors underpin the behavior by which we define ourselves. This holds true for everything from the twitch of an isolated muscle cell to the formulation of a unified field theory in physics.", our author explains on page 29. "The brain's marvelous performance is possible because of its organization." I particularly enjoyed the elegantly simply diagrams of a neuron and a synapse on page 20. Part II deals with drug interactions and brain coding and decoding. "Russian Dolls" at Chapter 8 details this nicely, since "At each of these levels--molecules, synapses, neurons, networks, maps, systems, and the brain as a whole--information coding and decoding reflect information from all the other levels." (page 92). From "Good Drugs, Bad Drugs" at Chapter 10, through "Mother's Little Helper" and "Mr. Guinea Pig" at Chapters 13 and 17, Dr. Restak succinctly describes historical personas and their discoveries, and how they evolved into what more we understand today.

It is clear that this book was written from a sincere love of trade. I can tell Dr. Restak loves his profession (a neurologist and neuropsychiatrist), and it is apparent this book wasn't rushed to the marketplace as a piece paid by the word. There really is no filler here; all 221 pages are neat and clean, educational and provide a solid basis of neurology for the layperson as well as Dr. Restak's colleagues. It allows us to understand what we put into our bodies ultimately affects our moods and our chances for living longer--or not. Our author has a real gem here, clearly and I won't be able to take it all in on one pass from my library copy. I'll need to take a seat in the coffeestore lounge, where I can enjoy a double iced mocha and devote my reading time to "Receptors", as it duly deserves. In fact, I need to click this book on my shopping cart right now.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAN'S SYMBOLIC BRAIN, September 13, 2005

By 

Worldreels (MANKATO, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Receptors (Paperback)

Restak's RECEPTORS is a deep breath of fresh air. His metaphors using the car, the ignition key and the filters of a camera brought this difficult material within the reader's grasp. The author really tried to communicate his ideas instead of just sounding off with jargon. Although he was talking about very technical material, receptors in the brain, he never lost sight of the big picture. What is the big picture? That the human brain is nothing but an information processor. Molecules of all stripes, nucleic or amino acids, have but one purpose -- to transmit information, genetic or life sustaining. Or to use Restak's own words, "But neurotransmitters and their receptors also mirror the internal and external environment and thus serve as symbols and signs." (P. 31)

When this glut of current brain research is analyzed and digested it will all show what Restak believes -- the brain can only reflect what the universe offers up. No matter what the language, whether genetic DNA, English or digital zeros and ones, it all boils down to molecular shapes and the chemical- electro-magnetic fields in which these shapes float. His appreciation that the brain is no different from other shapes of matter, concerns of physicists, should be commended.

He points out that both thoughts and emotions result from chemical processes that either expand or don't within the brain. If an infant is missing one gene the tyke may spend all his/her living days staring into vegetative space. So, like all matter in the universe, the brain exists in the sea of energy studied by quantum mechanics. Yes, the conscious mind benefits from the probabilities of its own existence but nothing is for sure. What propels the brain forward is an unseen force, called by Richard Dawkins the selfish gene, which insures man's survival. The individual is only a passenger aboard this survival flight.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCITING, June 13, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Receptors (Paperback)

I am an alchohol/drug counselor and I believe there is much going on at the neurological level when people attempt to recover from addiction. I found this book relatively easy to understand and it gave me much needed support to my ongoing search for a biological theory of addiction and treatment.