This volume contains many outstanding reviews on neuroendocrinology with references extending into 1972. Three of the 11 chapters of the book contain clinically oriented material of theoretical and practical value. The remaining chapters are concerned with biochemical and physiological problems in neuroendocrinology. There are articles on the biosynthesis of hypothalamic hormones, hormonal responses to stimulation by microelectrodes in the hypothalamus, the role of cyclic nucleotides in the secretion of pituitary growth hormone, brain catecholamines and ACTH secretion, mechanisms of neural control by steroids in the brain, and structure-function relationships of hypothalamic hormones.
In a chapter entitled "Neuroendocrine Aspects of Circumventricular Organs," Adolf Weindl describes small structures located around the ventricles that have vascular, eppendimal, and neural organizations that differ from those of the usual brain tissues. The morphology of these structures suggests that they have both humoral release and receptor functions. In some animal species, one of these structures, the