Developing concepts of cerebral amino acid uptake 1950-1970

This issue of the journal honors Professor Henry McIlwain for his contributions to our knowledge of neurochemistry, as a pioneer (an important contributor already in the 1950s), as a scientist, and as a teacher of great influence and help to the next generation of neurochemists. It is fitting that in his semi-retirement he turns his interest to the history and background of our discipline and demonstrates to us that there is a great deal to learn from the past. In today's explosion of knowledge and new approaches, and the consequent rush to do the work, we tend to forget not only the important past accomplishments but also the past mistakes not to be repeated. It is worthwhile from time to time to take stock, to look back at the path that led to the present. This paper is an attempt to explore this retrospection by a discussion of some of the background of research on cerebral amino acid transport. Emphasis for the purpose is on illustration, with arbitrarily selected examples rather than an exhaustive review of the subject.