ArticleScientific reports2020
Endogenous opioids facilitate intrinsically-rewarded birdsong.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rooks (Corvus frugilegus) can show spontaneous vocal flexibility when exposed to dynamically changing rhythmic sounds.Animal cognition · 2026Article
- Sexually-motivated song correlates with opioid- and dopamine-related gene expression in the rostral nucleus accumbens of male European starlings.Behavioural brain research · 2026Article
- The hedonic impact of cleaner-client fish interactions is mediated by the opioid system.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Evidence that flocking behavior is rewarded by singing, flock mates, and mu opioid receptors in the nucleus accumbens.PloS one · 2025Article
- Distinct patterns of activity within columns of the periaqueductal gray are associated with functionally distinct birdsongs.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2023Article
- Distinct patterns of gene expression in the medial preoptic area are related to gregarious singing behavior in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).BMC neuroscience · 2023Article
- The medial preoptic area and its projections to the ventral tegmental area and the periaqueductal gray are activated in response to social play behavior in juvenile rats.Behavioral neuroscience · 2023Article
- The motivation to flock correlates with vocal-social behaviors and dopamine-related gene expression in male European starlings.Hormones and behavior · 2023Article
- Positive Wild Animal Welfare.Biology & philosophy · 2023Article
- Using seasonality and birdsong to understand mechanisms underlying context-appropriate shifts in social motivation and reward.Hormones and behavior · 2022Review
- 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
- Mu opioid receptor stimulation in the medial preoptic area or nucleus accumbens facilitates song and reward in flocking European starlings.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- The Role of the Endogenous Opioid System in the Vocal Behavior of Songbirds and Its Possible Role in Vocal Learning.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Review
- Birdsong and the Neural Regulation of Positive Emotion.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Review
- Intrinsic motivation for singing in songbirds is enhanced by temporary singing suppression and regulated by dopamine.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Immunolabeling Provides Evidence for Subregions in the Songbird Nucleus Accumbens and Suggests a Context-Dependent Role in Song in Male European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).Brain, behavior and evolution · 2021Article
- The Role of Mu-Opioids for Reward and Threat Processing in Humans: Bridging the Gap from Preclinical to Clinical Opioid Drug Studies.Current addiction reports · 2021Review
- "Hearken to the Hermit-Thrush": A Case Study in Interdisciplinary Listening.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Many songbirds sing in non-reproductive contexts while in flocks. Singing in such gregarious contexts is critical for maintaining and learning songs; however, song is not directed towards other individuals and has no obvious, immediate social consequences. Studies using conditioned place preference (CPP) tests of reward indicate that song production in gregarious contexts correlates positively with a bird's intrinsic reward state and with opioid markers in the medial preoptic nucleus (mPOA). However, the causal involvement of opioids in gregarious song is unknown. Here we report that the selective mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonist fentanyl dose-dependently facilitates gregarious song and reduces stress/anxiety-related behavior in male and female European starlings. Furthermore, infusion of siRNA targeting MORs specifically in mPOA both suppresses gregarious song and disrupts the positive association between affective state and singing behavior, as revealed using CPP tests of song-associated reward. Results strongly implicate opioids in gregarious song and suggest that endogenous opioids in the mPOA may facilitate song by influencing an individual's intrinsic reward state.
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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.