Study Traces a Neural Circuit Behind Green Light–Mediated Pain Relief
Study Traces a Neural Circuit Behind Green Light–Mediated Pain Relief
A mouse study concludes color-detecting cones in the eye and a subset of neurons in the brain’s thalamus are why green light exposure has an analgesic effect.
A mouse study concludes color-detecting cones in the eye and a subset of neurons in the brain’s thalamus are why green light exposure has an analgesic effect.
opioid receptor
Infographic: Inducing Active Immunity Against Opioid Overdose
Tori Rodriguez | Jun 13, 2022 | 3 min read
How scientists aim to induce an immune response against addictive drugs
Opioid Vaccines as a Tool to Stem Overdose Deaths
Tori Rodriguez | Jun 13, 2022 | 10+ min read
Researchers are turning to the immune system for help in treating addiction and preventing overdose.
Vitamin D Deficiency Drives Opioid Addiction in Mice
Amanda Heidt | Jun 16, 2021 | 5 min read
Mice with low vitamin D had exaggerated craving for opioids and felt the drugs’ effects more strongly—results supported in part by human medical records—suggesting that supplements should be explored as treatments for opioid use disorders.
Sex Differences in Opioid Analgesia: A Complicated Picture
Catherine Offord | Jan 1, 2018 | 5 min read
Researchers are beginning to tease apart the mechanisms underlying differences in how males and females respond to powerful painkillers.
Heady Stuff
Kate Yandell | Nov 1, 2015 | 5 min read
New research on how fat influences brain neuronal activity
Pain and Progress
Kerry Grens | Feb 1, 2014 | 10+ min read
Is it possible to make a nonaddictive opioid painkiller?
Celebrated Neuroscientist Dies
Kate Yandell | Sep 23, 2013 | 2 min read
Candace Pert, who helped discover opioid receptors, has passed away at age 67.
Natural Opioids Linked to Chronic Pain
Jef Akst | Sep 19, 2013 | 4 min read
The body’s own pain-quelling system may be at the root of chronic pain and symptoms of opioid withdrawal, according to a new study in mice.
Opioid Receptors Implicated in PTSD
Dan Cossins | Jun 7, 2013 | 2 min read
A compound that targets a particular opioid receptor in the amygdala reduces the formation of PTSD-like systems in mice subjected to severe trauma.
Molecular Blueprints
Cristina Luiggi | Mar 27, 2012 | 3 min read
Check out the latest crop of high-resolution structures and how they inform biological function.