This book is intended to provide an overview of the pharmacology of neurotransmitter release. Neurotransmitter release initiates synaptic transmission, the major mechanism by which neurons communicate with each other and with effector cells. Although a larger number of drugs act on the postsynaptic receptors that are the targets of the released neurotransmitters than on the release process itself, some of the oldest drug agents in medicine influence the release of subsets of neurotransmitters, for example, reserpine, which empties synaptic vesicles containing catecholamines and thereby blocks catecholamine release. Furthermore, some long-recognized compounds that act on neurotransmitter release are being increasingly used for new applications. For example, botulinum toxins are now.
