Kramer Kristin M, Choe Christina, Carter C Sue, Cushing Bruce S
Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Horm Behav. 2006 Feb;49(2):206-14. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.07.001. Epub 2005 Aug 19.
Previous studies have revealed that the neuropeptide hormone oxytocin (OT) has developmental effects on subsequent social behavior and on mechanisms underlying social behavior such as OT neurons and estrogen receptor alpha. This suggests that OT might also have developmental effects on neural responses to social stimuli. This was tested in socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) by manipulating OT on the first day of life and then assessing the response to a heterosexual pairing in adulthood. The response to cohabitation was assessed by quantifying neural activation in regions of the brain associated with sociosexual behavior and anxiety using c-Fos immunoreactivity. Additionally, immunocytochemistry was used to label OT and vasopressin neurons and plasma was assayed for both neuropeptides. Treatment effects were evident in females, but not in males. Blockade of OT receptors with an OT antagonist on the first day of life resulted in neural activation of the central amygdala in response to a pairing with a novel male in adulthood. The central amygdala does not normally express c-Fos after a heterosexual pairing in reproductively naïve prairie voles. Treatment effects also were observed in vasopressin immunoreactivity in the SON with OT-treated females showing a decrease.
先前的研究表明，神经肽激素催产素（OT）对后续的社会行为以及社会行为的潜在机制（如OT神经元和雌激素受体α）具有发育影响。这表明OT可能对神经对社会刺激的反应也具有发育影响。在社会性一夫一妻制的草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）中对此进行了测试，方法是在出生第一天操纵OT，然后评估成年后对异性配对的反应。通过使用c-Fos免疫反应性量化与社会性行为和焦虑相关的大脑区域中的神经激活，来评估对同居的反应。此外，免疫细胞化学用于标记OT和加压素神经元，并检测血浆中的两种神经肽。治疗效果在雌性中明显，但在雄性中不明显。在出生第一天用OT拮抗剂阻断OT受体会导致成年后与新雄性配对时中央杏仁核的神经激活。在未生育的草原田鼠进行异性配对后，中央杏仁核通常不会表达c-Fos。在OT处理的雌性大鼠的视上核中加压素免疫反应性方面也观察到了治疗效果，表现为下降。
