Brain Peptides

THE demonstration that a number of peptides are localized in the brain has resulted in major new developments in neuroendocrinology and the neurosciences. The surprise and disbelief occasioned by early reports of hypothalamic releasing hormones located in extrahypothalamic sites and of the presence of pituitary and gastrointestinal hormones in the brain have given way to attempts to determine the role of each peptide in the central nervous system (CNS). The concept of peptide secretion by neurons was first promulgated by Ernst and Berta Scharrer four decades ago.1 It should be noted that the concept of a substance acting as both . . .