Liu Y, Wang Z X
Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee 32306, USA.
Neuroscience. 2003;121(3):537-44. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4522(03)00555-4.
Although oxytocin (OT) and dopamine (DA) have been implicated in pair bond formation in monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), the nature of potential interactions between these two neurochemical systems and the brain circuits important for such interactions in the regulation of pair bonding have not been explored. Here, we demonstrated that access to both OT and DA D2-type receptors is necessary for pair bond formation, as blockade of either type of receptor prevented partner preferences induced by OT or a D2-type agonist. We also demonstrated that the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is a brain area important for such OT-DA interactions. In NAcc, blockade of OT receptors prevented partner preferences induced by a D2-type agonist whereas blockade of D2-type, but not D1-type, DA receptors blocked OT-induced partner preferences. Together, our data suggest that concurrent activation of OT and DA D2-type receptors in NAcc is essential for pair bond formation in female prairie voles.
尽管催产素（OT）和多巴胺（DA）被认为与一夫一妻制草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）的配偶关系形成有关，但这两种神经化学系统之间潜在相互作用的本质以及在配偶关系调节中对这种相互作用至关重要的脑回路尚未得到探索。在这里，我们证明了OT和DA D2型受体的通路对于配偶关系形成都是必需的，因为阻断任何一种受体都会阻止OT或D2型激动剂诱导的伴侣偏好。我们还证明伏隔核（NAcc）是对这种OT-DA相互作用很重要的脑区。在NAcc中，阻断OT受体会阻止D2型激动剂诱导的伴侣偏好，而阻断D2型而非D1型DA受体会阻断OT诱导的伴侣偏好。总之，我们的数据表明，NAcc中OT和DA D2型受体的同时激活对于雌性草原田鼠的配偶关系形成至关重要。
