Peptide Category: Cognitive
Oxytocin
What is Oxytocin? Oxytocin is a nine-amino-acid neuropeptide (a nonapeptide) synthesized primarily in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the hypothalamus. From there, it follows two major release pathways: projection neurons carry it down the pituitary stalk to the posterior pituitary, where it is stored in Herring bodies and released into systemic
Cerebrolysin
What is Cerebrolysin? Cerebrolysin is a standardized neuropeptide preparation derived from the enzymatic hydrolysis of purified porcine brain proteins. It is not a single synthetic compound but rather a complex, chemically defined mixture consisting of approximately 25% low-molecular-weight peptides and peptide fragments alongside 75% free amino acids. The peptide fraction — which contains the bioactive
Dihexa
What is Dihexa? Dihexa is a synthetic peptide developed at Washington State University (WSU) by a research team led by Dr. Joseph Harding and Dr. John Wright, who spent years investigating the pharmacological manipulation of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signaling system in the context of cognitive function. Officially designated N-hexanoic-Tyr-Ile-(6)-aminohexanoic amide, Dihexa belongs to
DSIP
What is DSIP (Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide)? Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide, universally abbreviated as DSIP, is a nine amino acid neuropeptide with the sequence Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu. It is one of the most structurally simple bioactive peptides studied in human neuroscience, and yet its functional profile has proven to be significantly more complex than its original discovery implied. DSIP
PT-141
What is PT-141 (Bremelanotide)? PT-141, known by its pharmaceutical name bremelanotide, is a cyclic heptapeptide that occupies a genuinely unusual position in the peptide research landscape. Most compounds studied for sexual dysfunction work peripherally — they dilate blood vessels, increase genital blood flow, or modulate hormones at the gonadal level. PT-141 takes a fundamentally different
Selank
What is Selank? Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences during the 1990s and early 2000s. Its development was deliberate and methodical: researchers began with tuftsin, a naturally occurring tetrapeptide (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg) derived from immunoglobulin G that is produced in the spleen and known for
Semax
What is Semax? Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide derived from the amino acid sequence corresponding to positions 4 through 10 of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), a pituitary peptide with wide-ranging effects on stress response, cortisol regulation, and — notably for Semax’s development — cognitive and neurological function. The ACTH(4-10) fragment had been known since at least