THE MOLECULES OF EMOTION
Who Was Candace Pert?
Did you know that the phrase “molecules of emotion” comes from a real scientific discovery? Candace Beebe Pert (1946–2013) was an American neuroscientist and pharmacologist best known for discovering the opiate receptor—proof that the human body can produce its own natural painkillers.
This discovery was made in 1974, when Pert was a young PhD student at Johns Hopkins University, working in the laboratory of Solomon Snyder. Imagine the early 1970s: a young woman scientist, a new mother, in one of the most prestigious universities in the world. In a male-dominated academic environment, her determination led her, on a cold Sunday morning, to take her child with her into the laboratory to check the results of her experiments.
The discovery earned the prestigious Albert Lasker Award, often considered a precursor to the Nobel Prize. Yet while her male colleagues received official recognition, Candace Pert was invited only as a guest, and her contribution was largely overlooked.
Despite this injustice, Pert continued her research. She secured multiple patents for peptide-based treatments for conditions such as psoriasis, Alzheimer’s disease, and HIV-related neurodegeneration. Over the course of her career, she published more than 250 scientific articles on peptides, their receptors, and the role of neuropeptides in the immune system.
What makes her work truly groundbreaking, however, is her exploration of the relationship between peptides—the chemical messengers of the body—and emotional states. Candace Pert was the first to suggest that these peptides are, in fact, the molecules of emotion, influencing both mental and physical health. In other words, the body functions as the unconscious mind.
The more attention we pay to what the body expresses—joy, anger, pain, fear—the more space we create to listen and understand ourselves. As awareness grows, the subconscious becomes conscious, and the body’s chemistry begins to change. Chronic fear or prolonged stress, for example, floods the body with cortisol and adrenaline, maintaining inflammation and emotional tension.
Do you see the pattern? We feel as we think, and we think as we feel—a continuous loop shaped by the unconscious mind.
Candace Pert’s work invites us to recognize that awareness and conscious choices can transform the quality of our lives. Her legacy leaves us with a simple but profound question: what emotions are shaping my body and mind today?
Candace Pert’s autobiography is available in English:
“Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel”