The idea for this book developed during the course of several discussions among the editors while we were working together as staff scientists in the laboratories of the Clinical Neuro science Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health. It was a happy coincidence that the three of us, child psychiatrists with predominantly clinical interests, selected a collaborative bench research project involving neurotransmitter receptor characterization and regulation. We appreciated the relevance of our work to child psychiatry and wished for a forum to share the excitement we enjoyed in the laboratory with our clinical colleagues. Moreover, it seemed to us that much of the pharmacological research in child psychiatry proceeded on an empirical basis, often without a compelling neurochemical rationale. This could reflect the paucity of neurochemical data that exists in child psychiatry and the very limited understanding of the pathophysiology in most psychiatric disorders that occur in childhood. Also, we bemoaned the fact that there was a virtual absence of meaningful interchange between clinical investigators in child psychiatry and their colleagues in the neurosciences. We believed that an edited book appealing to clinicians and basic scientists could serve as an initial effort to foster interchange between them. The editors wish to emphasize that this book is viewed as only a beginning in the process of interchange that must take place.

Handbook of the Behavioral Neurobiology of Serotonin, Second Edition, builds on the success of the first edition by continuing to provide a detailed and comprehensive overview of the many facets of behavioral serotonin research. The text expands on the two key topics, behavioral control (sensory processing, ultrasonic vocalization, and melatonin and sleep control) and psychiatric disorders, including its role on psychostimulant abuse and addiction. The new edition includes two new sections on the serotonin systems interactions and the involvement of serotonin in neurological disorders and associated treatment. Serotonin is a major neurotransmitters in the serotonergic system which one of the best studied and understood transmitter systems. Both are critically involved in the organization of all behaviors and in the regulation of emotion and mood. Features two new sections on serotonin systems interactions and serotonin in neurological disorders Focuses on ionotropic and metabotropic 5-HT receptor involvement in behavior Maps receptors and receptor signaling pathways to neurochemical and behavioral outcomes Covers the interactions between serotonin, melatonin and kynurenine pathways