The Delta-Sleep Inducing Peptide in Cerebral Mechanisms of Emotional Stress

Abstract

The problem of the anti-stressor effect of the delta-sleep inducing peptide (DSIP) and of its neurophysiological mechanisms of action is considered. Physiological data are exposed that indicate an intraventricular administration of DSIP in rats to results in an increase of resistance to emotional stress, according to behavioral and autonomous reactions, and in a decrease of excitability of the brain structures responsible for protective reaction. Radioimmunological evidence is presented for the resistance of animals to emotional stress to depend on the content in hypothalamus of certain oligopeptides, such as β-endorphin, DSIP, and the substance P. It was shown that animals resistant to emotional stress had a higher content of these oligopeptides in hypothalamus than those predisposed to stress. The issue is discussed that the prolonged anti-stressor effects after the DSIP administration are determined by considerable changes of the content of other polypeptides and hormones in hypothalamus and blood, which are involved in the reaction under the effect of DSIP.