This paper is the forty-third consecutive installment of the annual anthological review of research concerning the endogenous
opioid system, summarizing articles published during 2020 that studied the behavioral effects of molecular, pharmacological and genetic manipulation of
opioid peptides and receptors as well as effects of
opioid/
opiate agonists and antagonists. The review is subdivided into the following specific topics: molecular-biochemical effects and neurochemical localization studies of endogenous
opioids and their receptors (1), the roles of these
opioid peptides and receptors in
pain and
analgesia in animals (2) and humans (3),
opioid-sensitive and
opioid-insensitive effects of
nonopioid analgesics (4),
opioid peptide and receptor involvement in tolerance and dependence (5), stress and social status (6), learning and memory (7), eating and drinking (8),
drug abuse and alcohol (9), sexual activity and
hormones, pregnancy, development and endocrinology (10),
mental illness and mood (11),
seizures and
neurologic disorders (12), electrical-related activity and neurophysiology (13), general activity and locomotion (14), gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic functions (15), cardiovascular responses (16), respiration and thermoregulation (17), and immunological responses (18).