Involvement of Opioid Peptides in Learning and Memory

Abstract

It is well known that hormones influence many physiological systems involved in regulating adaptation to environmental changes. For most animals the ability to acquire and retain experience-based information is essential for adapting to changes in environmental conditions. There is now considerable evidence indicating that hormones, including opioid peptide hormones, play an important role in regulating such adaptation by modulating neurobiological processes mediating the acquisition and storage of newly acquired information (McGaugh1983, 1989a).