The neurobiology of social play behaviour: Past, present and future

A behavioral analysis of the effects of amphetamine on play and locomotor activity in the post-weaning rat

Sutton, M. E., & Raskin, L. A. (1986) · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior · doi:10.1016/0091-3057(86)90541-1 · Cited by 22

Cariprazine alleviates core behavioral deficits in the prenatal valproic acid exposure model of autism spectrum disorder

Román, V., Adham, N., Foley, A., Hanratty, L., Farkas, B., Lendvai, B., & Kiss, B. (2021) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-021-05851-6 · Cited by 22

A further characterization of alpha-2 adrenoceptor involvement in the rough-and-tumble play of juvenile rats

Siviy, S. M., & Baliko, C. N. (2000) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/1098-2302(200007)37:1 · Cited by 22

Investigation of social, affective, and locomotor behavior of adolescent Brattleboro rats reveals a link between vasopressin's actions on arousal and social behavior

Schatz, K. C., Kyne, R. F., Parmeter, S. L., & Paul, M. J. (2018) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.08.015 · Cited by 21

Serotonin, motivation, and playfulness in the juvenile rat

Siviy, S. M., Deron, L. M., & Kasten, C. R. (2011) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2011.07.002 · Cited by 20

Monoacylglycerol lipase inhibition alters social behavior in male and female rats after post-weaning social isolation

Fontenot, J., Loetz, E. C., Ishiki, M., & Bland, S. T. (2017) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2017.12.038 · Cited by 20

Crying With Laughter: Adapting the Tickling Protocol to Address Individual Differences Among Rats in Their Response to Playful Handling

Bombail, V., Brown, S. M., Hammond, T. J., Meddle, S., Nielsen, B. L., Tivey, E. K. L., & Lawrence, A. B. (2021) · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.677872 · Cited by 20

Infant ultrasonic vocalizations predict adolescent social behavior in rats: Effects of early life adversity

Granata, L. E., Valentine, A. A., Hirsch, J. L., & Brenhouse, H. C. (2022) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.22260 · Cited by 20

Play like me: Similarity in playfulness promotes social play

Lampe, J. F., Ruchti, S., Burman, O., Würbel, H., & Melotti, L. (2019) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224282 · Cited by 20

Interactive Effects of Caffeine, 2-chloroadenosine and haloperidol on activity, social investigation and play fighting of juvenile rats

Holloway, W. R., & Thor, D. H. (1985) · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior · doi:10.1016/0091-3057(85)90043-7 · Cited by 19

Idazoxan increases rough-and-tumble play, activity and exploration in juvenile rats

Siviy, S. M., Atrens, D. M., & Menendez, J. A. (1990) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/bf02245801 · Cited by 19

Adaptive developmental plasticity in rhesus macaques: the serotonin transporter gene interacts with maternal care to affect juvenile social behaviour

Madrid, J. E., Mandalaywala, T. M., Coyne, S. P., Dallaire, J. A., Garner, J. P., Barr, C. S., Maestripieri, D., & Parker, K. J. (2018) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.0541 · Cited by 19

Early life stress during the neonatal period alters social play and Line1 during the juvenile stage of development

Cuarenta, A., Kigar, S. L., Henion, I. C., Chang, L., Bakshi, V. P., & Auger, A. P. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-82953-3 · Cited by 19

Social behavior in prepubertal neurexin 1α deficient rats: A model of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Kight, K. E., Argue, K. J., Bumgardner, J. G., Bardhi, K., Waddell, J., & McCarthy, M. M. (2021) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/bne0000482 · Cited by 17

Effects of cross-fostering on play and anxiety in juvenile Fischer 344 and Lewis rats

Siviy, S. M., Eck, S. R., McDowell, L. S., & Soroka, J. A. (2016) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.11.035 · Cited by 17

Social play behavior shapes the development of prefrontal inhibition in a region-specific manner

Bijlsma, A., Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J., & Wierenga, C. J. (2023) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhad212 · Cited by 17

Effects of quipazine and methysergide on play in juvenile rats

Normansell, L., & Panksepp, J. (1985) · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior · doi:10.1016/0091-3057(85)90541-6 · Cited by 16

Predator odor exposure of rat pups has opposite effects on play by juvenile males and females

Stockman, S. L., & McCarthy, M. M. (2016) · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.pbb.2016.08.008 · Cited by 16

Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on social competence: Asymmetry in play partner preference among heterogeneous triads of male and female rats

Holman, P. J., Baglot, S. L., Morgan, E., & Weinberg, J. (2019) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.21842 · Cited by 15

Unidirectional opioid-cannabinoid cross-tolerance in the modulation of social play behavior in rats

Schiavi, S., Manduca, A., Segatto, M., Campolongo, P., Pallottini, V., Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J., & Trezza, V. (2019) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-019-05226-y · Cited by 15

Social play in juvenile rats during scopolamine withdrawal

Thor, D. H., & Holloway, W. R. (1984) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/0031-9384(84)90132-x · Cited by 15

Acute effects of cocaine on play behaviour of rats

Ferguson, S. A., Frisby, N. B., & Ali, S. F. (2000) · Behavioural Pharmacology · doi:10.1097/00008877-200004000-00010 · Cited by 13

Effect of repeated juvenile exposure to Δ9‑tetrahydrocannabinol on anxiety-related behavior and social interactions in adolescent rats

Mohammed, A. N., Alugubelly, N., Kaplan, B. L. F., & Carr, R. L. (2018) · Neurotoxicology and Teratology · doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2018.06.003 · Cited by 13

Examining the impact of neuroimmune dysregulation on social behavior of male and female juvenile rats

Turano, A., McAuley, E. M., Muench, M. C., & Schwarz, J. M. (2021) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113449 · Cited by 11

How strain differences could help decipher the neurobiology of mammalian playfulness: what the less playful Fischer 344 rat can tell us about play

Siviy, S. M. (2020) · International Journal of Play · doi:10.1080/21594937.2020.1721024 · Cited by 10

On the central noradrenergic mechanism underlying the social play-suppressant effect of methylphenidate in rats

Achterberg, E. J. M., Damsteegt, R., & Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J. (2018) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2018.03.004 · Cited by 9

Deep hypothermia reverses behavioral and histological alterations in a rat model of perinatal asphyxia

Vázquez‐Borsetti, P., Peña, E., Rojo, Y., Acuña, A., & Loidl, C. F. (2018) · The Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.24539 · Cited by 9

Detrimental effects of the ‘bath salt’ methylenedioxypyrovalerone on social play behavior in male rats

Schiavi, S., Melancia, F., Carbone, E., Buzzelli, V., Manduca, A., Peinado, P. J., Zwergel, C., Mai, A., Campolongo, P., Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J., et al. (2020) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/s41386-020-0729-5 · Cited by 9

Play, but not observing play, engages rat medial prefrontal cortex

Concha‐Miranda, M., Hartmann, K., Reinhold, A. S., Brecht, M., & Sanguinetti-Scheck, J. I. (2020) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/ejn.14908 · Cited by 9

BDNF expression increases without changes in play behavior following concussion in juvenile rats (Rattus Norvegicus)

Dyck, A. C. F., & Ivanco, T. L. (2018) · Developmental Neurorehabilitation · doi:10.1080/17518423.2018.1460878 · Cited by 8

Maternal overweight induced by reduced litter size impairs the behavioral neurodevelopment of offspring

Novais, C. O., Batista, T. H., Ribeiro, A. C. A. F., Vitor-Vieira, F., Rojas, V. C. T., Ferri, B. G., Vieira, J. S., Giusti‐Paiva, A., & Vilela, F. C. (2021) · Life Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119611 · Cited by 8

Chronic exposure to ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol in adolescence decreases social play behaviours

Keeley, R. J., Himmler, S. M., Pellis, S. M., & McDonald, R. J. (2021) · F1000Research · doi:10.12688/f1000research.53891.1 · Cited by 8

Early life adoption shows rearing environment supersedes transgenerational effects of paternal stress on aggressive temperament in the offspring

Zutshi, I., Gupta, S., Zanoletti, O., Sandi, C., & Poirier, G. L. (2021) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-021-01659-2 · Cited by 7

Contribution of analog signaling to neurotransmitter interactions and behavior: Role of transporter‐mediated nonquantal dopamine release

Román, V., Kedves, R., Kelemen, K., Némethy, Z., Sperlágh, B., Lendvai, B., & Vizi, E. S. (2021) · Physiological Reports · doi:10.14814/phy2.15088 · Cited by 7

Play fighting and corticotropin-releasing hormone in the lateral septum of golden hamsters

Cheng, S.-Y., & Delville, Y. (2010) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.04.040 · Cited by 6

Social Interaction With an Alcohol‐Intoxicated or Cocaine‐Injected Peer Selectively Alters Social Behaviors and Drinking in Adolescent Male and Female Rats

Gamble, D. M., Josefson, C. C., Hennessey, M. K., Davis, A. M., Waters, R. C., Jones, B. N., Belton, D. M., Hall, N. I., Costen, T. J., Kirstein, C. L., et al. (2019) · Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/acer.14208 · Cited by 6

Methamphetamine exposure during the first, but not the second half of prenatal development, affects social play behavior

Ševčíková, M., Petrikova-Hrebickova, I., & Šlamberová, R. (2020) · Physiological Research · doi:10.33549/physiolres.934230 · Cited by 5

The Neurochemistry of Social Play Behaviour in Rats

Trezza, V., Achterberg, E. J. M., & Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108131384.003 · Cited by 5

Back to nature: herbal treatment, environmental enrichment, and social play can protect against unpredictable chronic stress in Long-Evans rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Nwachukwu, K., Rhoads, E., Meek, S., & Bardi, M. (2021) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-021-05917-5 · Cited by 4

Animal play and evolution: Seven timely research issues about enigmatic phenomena

Burghardt, G. M., Pellis, S. M., Schank, J. C., Smaldino, P. E., Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J., & Palagi, E. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105617 · Cited by 32

Play fighting revisited: its design features and how they shape our understanding of its mechanisms and functions

Pellis, S. M., Pellis, V. C., & Ham, J. R. (2024) · Frontiers in Ethology · doi:10.3389/fetho.2024.1362052 · Cited by 18

Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging

Golland, Y., Ben‐David, B. M., Mather, M., & Keisari, S. (2025) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2025.1490864 · Cited by 15

The evolution of social play in songbirds, parrots and cockatoos - emotional or highly complex cognitive behaviour or both?

Kaplan, G. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105621 · Cited by 15

The promotion of play behaviour in grow-finish pigs: The relationship between behaviours indicating positive experience and physiological measures

Steinerová, K., Parker, S., Brown, J., & Seddon, Y. M. (2024) · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2024.106263 · Cited by 16

Social Play Behavior

Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J., & Achterberg, E. J. M. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-819641-0.00021-9 · Cited by 1

The brain at play: neural substrates of social play behaviour in adolescent rats

van Kerkhof, L. W. M. (2013) · Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) · Cited by 1

What the Laboratory Rat has Taught us About Social Play Behavior: Role in Behavioral Development and Neural Mechanisms

Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J., & Trezza, V. (2013) · Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45758-0_268 · Cited by 200

The neurobiology of social play behavior in rats

Vanderschuren, L. J. M. J., Niesink, R. J. M., & Van Pee, J. M. (1997) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/s0149-7634(96)00020-6 · Cited by 559

Assessing Dyadic Social Interactions in Rodent Models of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Schiavi, S., Manduca, A., Carbone, E., Buzzelli, V., & Trezza, V. (2022) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-2569-9_10 · Cited by 3