ArticleThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience2012
κ-Opioid receptors within the nucleus accumbens shell mediate pair bond maintenance.
Article in The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Opioids and social bonding: Effect of naltrexone on feelings of social connection and ventral striatum activity to close others.Journal of experimental psychology. General · 2020Trial
- Kappa Opioid Receptor Availability in Borderline Personality Disorder: An In Vivo Investigation With [Biological psychiatry · 2026Article
- The prairie vole gut-brain-microbiota-axis: a narrative review.Gut microbiome (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- Mapping the cellular basis of species differences in oxytocin and dopamine receptor expression in the vole nucleus accumbens.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- A review of the effects of different types of social behaviors on the recruitment of neuropeptides and neurotransmitters in the nucleus accumbens.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- Article
- Re-wiring of the bonded brain: Gene expression among pair bonded female prairie voles changes as they transition to motherhood.Genes, brain, and behavior · 2024Article
- Melanocortin agonism in a social context selectively activates nucleus accumbens in an oxytocin-dependent manner.Neuropharmacology · 2024Article
- Kappa opioid receptor activation increases thermogenic energy expenditure which drives increased feeding.iScience · 2023Article
- Review
- Motherhood and DREADD manipulation of the nucleus accumbens weaken established pair bonds in female prairie voles.Hormones and behavior · 2023Article
- Article
- Modulation of 5-HT release by dynorphin mediates social deficits during opioid withdrawal.Neuron · 2022Article
- Interactions between thePhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Review
- Interplay between the oxytocin and opioid systems in regulating social behaviour.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Review
- Effects of a D2 receptor antagonist on repeated pair bond formation in the male prairie vole.Hormones and behavior · 2022Article
- Sex differences in the reward value of familiar mates in prairie voles.Genes, brain, and behavior · 2022Article
- Differences in dopamine and opioid receptor ratios in the nucleus accumbens relate to physical contact and undirected song in pair-bonded zebra finches.Behavioral neuroscience · 2022Article
- Selectivity and Sociality: Aggression and Affiliation Shape Vole Social Relationships.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Review
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The prairie vole is a socially monogamous species in which breeder pairs typically show strong and selective pair bonds. The establishment of a pair bond is associated with a behavioral transition from general affiliation to aggressive rejection of novel conspecifics. This "selective aggression" is indicative of mate guarding that is necessary to maintain the initial pair bond. In the laboratory, the neurobiology of this behavior is studied using resident-intruder testing. Although it is well established that social behaviors in other species are mediated by endogenous opioid systems, opiate regulation of pair bond maintenance has never been studied. Here, we used resident-intruder testing to determine whether endogenous opioids within brain motivational circuitry mediate selective aggression in prairie voles. We first show that peripheral blockade of κ-opioid receptors with the antagonist norbinaltorphimine (nor-BNI; 100 mg/kg), but not with the preferential μ-opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (1, 10, or 30 mg/kg), decreased selective aggression in males. We then provide the first comprehensive characterization of κ- and μ-opioid receptors in the prairie vole brain. Finally, we demonstrate that blockade of κ-opioid receptors (500 ng nor-BNI) within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell abolishes selective aggression in both sexes, but blockade of these receptors within the NAc core enhances this behavior specifically in females. Blockade of κ-opioid receptors within the ventral pallidum or μ-opioid receptors with the specific μ-opioid receptor antagonist H-D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Arg-Thr-PenThr-NH2 (1 ng CTAP) within the NAc shell had no effect in either sex. Thus, κ-opioid receptors within the NAc shell mediate aversive social motivation that is critical for pair bond maintenance.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.