Biological functions of neuropeptides

Plays a bidirectional role in pain regulation: substance P promotes pain transmission, while enkephalin produces analgesic effects through μ receptors. Neuropeptide Y has been found to be closely related to hedonic eating behavior, and its concentration differences may affect energy intake strategies in human evolution
A 2024 study revealed that the brainstem fear circuit encodes threat memory through a combination of neuropeptides, and blocking neuropeptide release can reduce mouse fear behavior by 70%
Disease associated mechanism
In scar tissue pathology, substance P promotes fibroblast proliferation through NK1 receptors, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) can enhance skin fibroblast activity by 2.3 times [4]. Overexpression of neuropeptide Y is associated with obesity and drug addiction, with its concentration in the human nucleus accumbens being three times higher than in chimpanzees