ArticleNature communications2017
Endogenous opioids regulate moment-to-moment neuronal communication and excitability.
Article in Nature communications, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Positive allosteric modulation of the delta opioid receptor attenuates depression-like and pain-like behaviors but does not promote convulsions.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2026Article
- The neural circuits and signalling pathways of opioid use disorder.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Effects of two structurally diverse positive allosteric modulators on signaling bias at the μ-opioid receptor.Molecular pharmacology · 2025Article
- Delta opioid receptors engage multiple signaling cascades to differentially modulate prefrontal GABA release with input and target specificity.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Amygdala intercalated cells form an evolutionarily conserved system orchestrating brain networks.Nature neuroscience · 2025Review
- Delta opioid receptors engage multiple signaling cascades to differentially modulate prefrontal GABA release with input and target specificity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- I like therefore I can, and I can therefore I like: the role of self-efficacy and affect in active inference of allostasis.Frontiers in neural circuits · 2024Article
- Cell-type specific molecular architecture for mu opioid receptor function in pain and addiction circuits.Neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Pain-related cortico-limbic plasticity and opioid signaling.Neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Methadone alters transcriptional programs associated with synapse formation in human cortical organoids.Translational psychiatry · 2023Article
- Key differences in regulation of opioid receptors localized to presynaptic terminals compared to somas: Relevance for novel therapeutics.Neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Opioid Withdrawal Abruptly Disrupts Amygdala Circuit Function by Reducing Peptide Actions.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2023Article
- The life and times of endogenous opioid peptides: Updated understanding of synthesis, spatiotemporal dynamics, and the clinical impact in alcohol use disorder.Neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Opioid-Induced Reductions in Amygdala Lateral Paracapsular GABA Neuron Circuit Activity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Amygdala Intercalated Cells: Gate Keepers and Conveyors of Internal State to the Circuits of Emotion.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2022Review
- Studying Synaptic Connectivity and Strength with Optogenetics and Patch-Clamp Electrophysiology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Kappa opioids inhibit the GABA/glycine terminals of rostral ventromedial medulla projections in the superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord.The Journal of physiology · 2022Article
- Current and Future Therapeutic Options in Pain Management: Multi-mechanistic Opioids Involving Both MOR and NOP Receptor Activation.CNS drugs · 2022Review
- Functional connectivity of intercalated nucleus with medial amygdala: A circuit relevant for chemosignal processing.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2022Article
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme gates brain circuit-specific plasticity via an endogenous opioid.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Fear and emotional learning are modulated by endogenous opioids but the cellular basis for this is unknown. The intercalated cells (ITCs) gate amygdala output and thus regulate the fear response. Here we find endogenous opioids are released by synaptic stimulation to act via two distinct mechanisms within the main ITC cluster. Endogenously released opioids inhibit glutamate release through the δ-opioid receptor (DOR), an effect potentiated by a DOR-positive allosteric modulator. Postsynaptically, the opioids activate a potassium conductance through the μ-opioid receptor (MOR), suggesting for the first time that endogenously released opioids directly regulate neuronal excitability. Ultrastructural localization of endogenous ligands support these functional findings. This study demonstrates a new role for endogenously released opioids as neuromodulators engaged by synaptic activity to regulate moment-to-moment neuronal communication and excitability. These distinct actions through MOR and DOR may underlie the opposing effect of these receptor systems on anxiety and fear.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.