The sensations of hunger and satiety are mediated through communication between the gastrointestinal system and the brain. Duraffourd et al. found that μ-opioid receptor (MOR)–1 was present in the nerves associated with the portal vein that collects blood from the gut. Peptide products of protein digestion can function …

Synthesizing the Opioid Peptides. The opioid peptides are synthesized as parts of large precursor molecules that may be split to yield different products in different cells. The biosynthesis of the opioid pep- tides illustrates what seemsto be a gen- eral trend in neurobiology. Likemany other peptides that act in the nervous.

Dec 2, 2016 … But Price’s district is also experiencing some public health crises that he will likely be dealing with as HHS secretary: a serious heroin and opioid abuse epidemic, as well as elevated HIV infection rates. The heroin problem was described in great detail in this investigative special by the local NBC affiliate …

We detected significant effects of genotype on μ-opioid system activation (degrees of freedom = 2, 15 for all regions,P < 0.05 after correction for multiple comparisons) in the anterior thalamus [x, y, zcoordinates (millimeters), 5, −1, −2; F = 29.3], the thalamic pulvinar ipsilateral to the painful challenge (x,y, z, −8, −24, 8; …

Pain and Dependence. The properties and functions of µ-opioid receptors have been studied intensively with respect to the binding of endogenous or exogenous ligands. However, much less is known about the constitutive, ligand-independent, activation of opioid receptors. Working in mice, Corder et al. (p. 1394) observed …

Jul 8, 2016 … Amid heightened concern about the addictive properties of opiates used to manage pain, new results from Grace et al. reveal that morphine can actually promote chronic pain. Rats with nerve damage treated for 5 days with morphine showed a sensitization to pain that persisted for months after opioid …

Abstract. Dynorphin, an opioid peptide whose functions are unknown, is found in brain, pituitary, and peripheral organs. Specific radioimmunoassays were used to measure dynorphin in the hypothalamus and pituitary, during the day and at night, as a function of food and water deprivation. Immunoreactive dynorphin was …

Different drugs of abuse are thought to hijack similar reward systems in the brain using common mechanisms. However, Koo et al. now observe that some of the neural mechanisms that regulate opiate reward can be both different and even opposite to those that regulate reward by stimulant drugs. Whereas knockdown of …

Abstract. Previous studies have indicated the presence of opiate receptors on axons of the rat vagus nerve and on other small diameter fibers. In examinations of the effect of ligation on the distribution of receptors in the vagus nerve by in vitro labeling light microscopic autoradiography, a large buildup of receptors was found …

Abstract. The atypical excitation by opiates and opioid peptides of hippocampal pyramidal cells can be antagonized by iontophoresis of naloxone, the gamma-aminobutyric acid antagonists bicuculline, or magnesium ion. The recurrent inhibition of these cells evoked by transcallosal stimulation of the contralateral …