Oliver von Bohlen und Halbach gained his PhD in biology at the University of Constance, Germany. He carried out his postdoctoral training at the Medical Faculty, Charité, of the Humboldt-University in Berlin. Since 2001 he is postdoctoral fellow at the Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences at the Medical Faculty of the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Rolf Dermietzel obtained his MD in 1970 at the Medical School Essen, Germany, where he continued his training, being appointed as Associate Professor 1976. In 1984 he started a research fellowship at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena followed by a position as Visiting Professor at the Albert-Einstein College of Medicine, New York, in 1988. One year later he became Chairman of the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Regensburg, Germany, and in 1998 Chairman of the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Bochum, Germany.

INTRODUCTION
Neuroactive Substances
Receptors and Transporters
Distribution and Localization of Neurotransmitters and Neuromodulators
The Blood-Brain Barrier
Volume Transmission and Wiring Transmission
METHODS FOR STUDYING NEUROACTIVE SUBSTANCES
Bio- and Radioisotope Assays
Microdialysis and Electrochemical Detection
Chromatography
Autoradiography
Immunohistochemical Methods
In-situ Hybridization
Staining and Neuroanatomical Tract Tracing
Electrophysiology
Behavioral Testing
Microarrays
MALDI-TOF
Neuroimaging
Genomics und Proteomics Methods
Databases
NEUROTRANSMITTERS
Acetylcholine
Dopamine
GABA (Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid)
Glutamate and Aspartate
Glycine
Histamine
Norepinephrine
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine)
NEUROMODULATORS
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH)
Anandamide
Angiotensin
Atrial Natriuretic Factor
Calcitonin and Calcitonin Gene-Related Protein
Cholecystokinin
Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF)
Dynorphin
Eicosanoids and Arachidonic Acid
Endocannabinoids
Endorphin
Enkephalin
FGF
Galanin
Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone
Interleukin
Melanin-Concentrating Hormone
Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone
Neurotensin
Neutrophins
Nitric Oxide
Nociceptin (Orphanin FQ)
Neuropeptide Y
PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide)
Proopiomelanocortin
Purines
Somatostatin
Substance P and Tachykinins
Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone
Tyr-MIF-1 Family
Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP)
Vasopressin and Oxytocin