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Overview"V M. ANDREOLl, A. AGNOLI, and C. FAZIO The transfer of a methyl group from a donor to an acceptor compound is a fundamental biochemie al process long since known to biologists; the process is involved, for instance, in the metabolism of porphyrins, nuc1eic acids, and fatty acids. Only recently, however, did transmethylation processes reveal their decisive role in CNS biochemistry - namely with the discovery that such processes are linked with the biogenie amines that have been conc1usively identified as the chemical mediators of neu- ronal transmission and, more broadly, of behavior. The first suggestion that transmethylation processes might be involved in the origina- tion of certain mental diseases came from Harley-Mason (1952), who noticed that many of the hallucinogenic substances known at that time contained methyl radicals, and par- ticularly that mescaline represented the product of O-methylation of dopamine in posi- tions 3, 4, and 5. This hypothesis was put forward when the O-methylation of catechol- amines by catechol-O-methyltransferases had not yet been described. Harley-Mason further proposed that in the living organism the process of O-methyla- tion might follow a ""deviant"" metabolie pathway, and that the accumulation of abnor- mal methylated metabolites endowed with hallucinogenic properties might be responsi- ble for the implementation of some mental diseases, notably schizophrenia. He also called attention to a substance, 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine (3,4-DMPEA) as a possible psychotogenic moleeule, on the strength of its capacity for producing cata- tonia in experimental animals." Full Product DetailsAuthor: V. M. Andreoli , A. Agnoli , C. FazioPublisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG Imprint: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K Edition: Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1978 Volume: 18 Dimensions: Width: 17.00cm , Height: 1.10cm , Length: 24.40cm Weight: 0.349kg ISBN: 9783642885181ISBN 10: 3642885187 Pages: 188 Publication Date: 23 August 2014 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Manufactured on demand We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier. Table of ContentsReviewsAuthor InformationTab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |