Electrochemical Measurements of Real-Time Opioid Peptide Fluctuations in the Brain
A novel waveform was developed that combines multiple scan rate voltammetry with amperometry in every sweep (Schmidt et al., 2014) to enable the detection of opioid neuropeptides. Here, this approach was used in the rat striatum to monitor putative enkephalin fluctuations in the dorsal striatum that are correlated with novelty and the consumption of palatable food. Ongoing work is validating these measurements through pharmacology and independent chemical analyses.