Enkephalin-like substance in aplysia nervous tissue and actions of leu-enkephalin on single neurons.

Extract from the abdominal ganglia of Aplysia was fractionated by high performance liquid chromatography. Several large uv absorbing peaks were found. One of these peaks from the ganglionic extract was analyzed by displacement assay with the use of Mytilus edulis membranes. The results revealed the substance in this peak was able to displace 3H-D-Ala2, met5-enkephalinamide. In electrophysiological studies of abdominal and cerebral neurons, depolarizing and hyperpolarizing responses were obtained from some neurons, including neurons in the identified cerebral B cell cluster. A smaller population of cells exhibited biphasic responses. Some of the responses could be depressed by prior naloxone treatment. In conclusion, an endogenous opioid system, using substance related to but distinct from the enkephalins, may exist in Aplysia.