Opioid Drugs Rush In Where Natural Opioids Fail to Activate

Opioid drugs and natural (or endogenous) opioids run along different paths inside neurons, which could explain why the “runner’s high” that results from exercise differs from the unnatural high produced by morphine, heroin, or synthetic opioids. Whereas opioid drugs and natural opioids both activate opioid receptors on the surface of neurons, opioid drugs take a detour after neurons internalize them.By tracking the path taken by opioid drugs, researchers based at the University