Endorphins
Endorphins are peptides produced in the brain that block pain perception and increase feelings of well-being.[1] The Cleveland Clinic states that endorphins are hormones released when the body feels pain or stress.[2] Endorphins are produced in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, which are both situated within the brain.[2]
Quick Facts
- Precursor protein
- Proopiomelanocortin (POMC)
- Discovery year
- 1973
- Discoverers
- John Hughes and Hans Kosterlitz
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
The Cleveland Clinic notes that beta-endorphins have a stronger effect than morphine on your body.[2] In 1973, John Hughes and Hans Kosterlitz at the University of Aberdeen were the first to discover opioid peptides in the brain.[3] Morphine-like peptides were isolated from calf brain by Rabi Simantov and Solomon H. Snyder.[4] The sequences of α-, β-, and γ-endorphin, isolated from camel pituitary glands, were recorded by Choh Hao Li and David Chung in 1976.[4]
The precursor proopiomelanocortin (POMC) is the source from which all endorphins are synthesized.[5]
What the cited sources add
The Cleveland Clinic explains that endorphins are released to block the nerve cells that receive pain signals.[2] The Cleveland Clinic states that endorphins boost the release of dopamine in your body.[2] Media coverage from the NCBI notes that for years we have credited endorphins for runner's high, but it is really about endocannabinoids.[6] The same source describes runner's high as a sudden pleasant feeling of euphoria, anxiolysis, sedation, and analgesia.[6]
The Cleveland Clinic reports that endorphins can be boosted by exercising, eating, having sex, and getting a massage.[2] The Cleveland Clinic adds that endorphins released during exercise have been shown to help reduce symptoms of depression.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Endorphins" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Endogenous morphine: up-to-date review 2011", Folia Biologica, 1515, p. 49–56; "μ receptor", IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY, 15 March 2017; "Endogenous formation of morphine in human cells", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, September 2004, p. 14091–14096 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Endorphins: What They Are and How to Boost Them", Cleveland Clinic. facts only, no text reused. my.clevelandclinic.org
- Wikipedia, "Endorphins" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Role of endorphins discovered", PBS Online: A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries, 1 January 1998; "Identification of two related pentapeptides from the brain with potent opiate agonist activity", Nature, December 1975, p. 577–580; "The Opiate Receptors", Humana Press, 2011, p. 93–120; "75 years of opioid research: the exciting but vain quest for the Holy Grail", British Journal of Pharmacology, January 2006, p. S153–S162; "75 years of opioid research: the exciting but vain quest for the Holy Grail", British Journal of Pharmacology, Jan en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Endorphins" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Morphine-like peptides in mammalian brain: isolation, structure elucidation, and interactions with the opiate receptor", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, July 1976, p. 251; "Effect of the opiate antagonist naloxone on body temperature in rats", Life Sciences, September 1975, p. 927–931; "Handbook of Biologically Active Peptides", Elsevier, 2013, p. 1592–1595; "Isolation and structure of an untriakontapeptide with opiate activity from camel pituitary glands", Proceedings of the National Academy en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Endorphins" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Neuroscience", Sunderland, 2018; "Opioid Receptors", Annual Review of Medicine, 2016-01-14, p. 433–451 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "News: Getting to the Bottom of the Runner's... (The New York Times) - Behind the headlines - NLM", NCBI. facts only, no text reused. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Endorphins (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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