Abstract
Many experimental approaches have been devised to study the functions of endorphins. A strategy which has been used very widely consists in the administration of an opiate antagonist. It is assumed that the antagonists displace endorphins from their receptors; once this happens, any function for which endorphins are needed should be altered. It has been hypothesized that endorphins play a role in endocrine functions (see below), pain perception (BUCHSBAUM, DAVIS & BUNNEY, 1977; EL-SOBKY, DOSTROVSKY & WALL, 1976; GREVERT & GOLDSTEIN, 1978; HOSOBUCHI, ADAMS & LINCHITZ, 1977), modulation of mood (JONES, 1978), sexual functioning (GOLDSTEIN & HANSTEEN, 1977), mental health (WATSON et al., 1978; VEREBEY, VOLAVKA & CLOUET, 1978) and other areas. These hypotheses were tested by the administration of the opiate antagonist naloxone. Another opiate antagonist, naltrexone, has also been used for similar experiments: it was administered to rats in order to study the function of endorphins in prolactin release (GUIDOTTI & GRANDISON, 1978); it was also used in therapeutic experiments in psychotic patients (SIMPSON, BRANCHEY & LEE, 1977; GUNNE & TERENIUS, 1978; GITLIN & ROSENBLATT, 1978).
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Volavka, J. et al. (1979). Hormonal and Other Effects of Naltrexone in Normal Men. In: Ehrlich, Y.H., Volavka, J., Davis, L.G., Brunngraber, E.G. (eds) Modulators, Mediators, and Specifiers in Brain Function. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 116. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3503-0_17
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