A report on Opiate, Morphine and Opioid receptor

Morphine is a pain medication of the opiate family that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (Papaver somniferum).

In more modern usage, the term opioid is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagonists).

The psychoactive compounds found in the opium plant include morphine, codeine, and thebaine.

By the mid-1960s, it had become apparent from pharmacologic studies that opiate drugs were likely to exert their actions at specific receptor sites, and that there were likely to be multiple such sites.

Social attachment was demonstrated to be mediated by the opioid system through experiments administering morphine and naltrexone, an opioid agonist and antagonist, to juvenile guinea pigs.

Heroin is converted to morphine before binding to the opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, where morphine causes the subjective effects, which is what the addicted individuals are seeking.