Advances in Pineal Research

This volume represents a collection of submitted papers from invited speakers at an International Workshop entitled 'Sites of Action and Effects of Pineal Hormones' which was held in Poznan, Poland in September 1989. In the midst ofEurope's most dramatic social revolution for a generation, the world's leading pinealologists gathered to discuss recent developments in the understanding of this somewhat neglected gland. The result is far from seamless with ample evidence for the lack of desktop publishing software and laser printers in the former Communist States of the East. Western contributors would also have been well advised to run spell-checks on their chapters before submitting them for direct publication. The book aims to be of widespread interest to a variety of scientists. However, the pineal seems to have fallen a long way in the order of priorities since its Cartesian heyday as the putative 'seat ofthe soul' and it is difficult to envisage anybody but the most dedicated pinealologist attracted to some of the more exotic chapters. A more general introduction would have been helpful in this respect. The early neuroanatomical and neurophysiological chapters are somewhat repetitive but there is fascinating work presented on the localization of melatonin receptors. There is little, if any, in the way of molecular biology in this volume, and the incorporation of state of the art techniques is clearly an avenue for expansion in the field. The absence of a true disease of excess or deficiency (the sine qua non of endocrine disorder) means that the pineal will forever be banished to the sidelines of clinical interest and indeed there is little in this volume to attract the attention of a general clinician. Nevertheless, some of the later contributions on melatonin's action on immune responses suggest therapeutic consequences that will be worth following. Despite aiming for a comprehensive account the book makes no mention, for example, of the vast literature on the role of melatonin in psychiatric disorders such as seasonal affective disorder and depression: indeed a sad omission. Finally a word of caution. Editors should not be tempted to present their acknowledgements in verse. Poetry, like pinealology should be left to the professionals.