Abstract
Marked advances have been made recently in neuroscience, and it is important to apply these advances to psychosomatic medicine. The brain is composed of numerous neurons, and information is chemically transmitted between neurons by neurotransmitters. In other words, the function of the brain is the sum of synaptic transmission phenomena. Therefore, to clarify brain function, quantification of neurotransmitters alone is inadequate, and evaluation of their receptors is neccesary. Neurotransmitters and their receptors in the catecholamine and neuropeptide systems markedly change with stress, and this had important implications in psychosomatic medicine. Especially, changes in the neurotransmitter system under chronic stress highly resemble those following antidepressant administration, suggesting biological adaptation. The brain is closely associated with the endocrine system and immune system, which is mediated by the neurotransmitter system. These three systems cooperate to maintain homeostases and regulate biological reactions to stress. Therefore, evaluation of one of these three systems alone is inadequate. It is impossible to discuss the status of the body only by evaluating changes in the amount of neurotransmitters. In analytic studies on the neurotransmitter system for psychosomatic medicine, results should be evaluated in termas of the entire body.
