Rita Levi-Montalcini – författare

The past two decades may well become known as the golden era of neurobiology. This field, that in the first half of this century seemed far too complex to be investigated with the low resolution techniques available to the investigators, suddenly blossomed in the second half of the century into one of the most promising areas of biology, thanks to discoveries which took place practically simultaneously in most areas of neurobiological research. Here we mention only some of the most important: the discovery of the large number of neurotransmitters from monoamines to peptides, the identification of the mechanism of action of different agents through their binding to specific receptors, the recognition that neuro­ transmitters act most of the time through a second messenger, and the discovery that growth and differentiation of nerve cells depend on activation by the protein molecule; all these were recognized I!S specific growth facts, of which the NGF was both the frrst to be dis­ covered and the object of the most intensive investigation. Recently, the development of highly sophisticated techniques such as recombinant DNA and monoclonal antibodies has been suc­ cessfully applied at the cellular and subeellular level to the study of nerve cells, neuronal cell population, and to the mechanism of their interaction. Studies pursued with the collaboration of different investigators all over the world have opened a new panorama of the tremendous complexity of the CNS, from the neuron to the whole organism.

This volume is a collection of articles written by Nobel Laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini and published from 1942 to 1995. Studies described in the first part set the stage for the discovery of a protein molecule which became known as the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), described in detail in the second part. The NGF synthesized in minute amounts in all vertebrate tissues, plays an essential role in the differentiation and survival of several nerve cell populations in the peripheral and central nervous system. The discovery of the NGF was defined by the Nobel Foundation as a milestone in developmental neurobiology, and the author was awarded in 1986 with this prestigious award. Studies pursued in subsequent years and still in progress, have unveiled other fundamental properties of the NGF, described in the third part of this volume.