The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Enkephalin is either of two pentapeptides (containing five amino acids) with OPIATE and ANALGESIC (painkilling) activity, occurring naturally in the brain, with a marked affinity for opiate receptors. ENDORPHIN was initially the name for all opioid-like NEUROTRANSMITTERS in the brain; the research team of Hans Kosterlitz and John Hughes gave their own name, enkephalin (a variant of en-cephal ["of the brain"]), to the two opioid pentapeptides that they had purified from ox brains (ca. 1977). They confirmed their discovery by showing that the effects of synthetic peptides were the same in bioassays using opiate RECEPTORS and that both Met5enkephalin and Leu5enkephalin were authentic endogenous opioid peptides.
COOPER, J. R., BLOOM, F. E., & ROTH, R. H. (1996). The biochemical basis of neuropharmacology, 7th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.