Division of Brain and Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke-shi, Japan.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2019 Mar;31(3):e12700. doi: 10.1111/jne.12700. Epub 2019 Mar 19.
Oxytocin neurones in the hypothalamus are activated by stressful stimuli and food intake. The oxytocin receptor is located in various brain regions, including the sensory information-processing cerebral cortex; the cognitive information-processing prefrontal cortex; reward-related regions such as the ventral tegmental areas, nucleus accumbens and raphe nucleus; stress-related areas such as the amygdala, hippocampus, ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray; homeostasis-controlling hypothalamus; and the dorsal motor complex controlling intestinal functions. Oxytocin affects behavioural and neuroendocrine stress responses and terminates food intake by acting on the metabolic or nutritional homeostasis system, modulating emotional processing, reducing reward values of food intake, and facilitating sensory and cognitive processing via multiple brain regions. Oxytocin also plays a role in interactive actions between stress and food intake and contributes to adaptive active coping behaviours.
下丘脑的催产素神经元被应激刺激和食物摄入激活。催产素受体位于各种脑区，包括感觉信息处理大脑皮层；认知信息处理前额叶皮层；与奖励相关的区域，如腹侧被盖区、伏隔核和中缝核；与应激相关的区域，如杏仁核、海马体、下丘脑腹外侧部和腹外侧导水管周围灰质；控制体内平衡的下丘脑；以及控制肠道功能的背侧运动复合体。催产素通过作用于代谢或营养稳态系统来影响行为和神经内分泌应激反应，并终止食物摄入，调节情绪处理，降低食物摄入的奖励价值，并通过多个脑区促进感觉和认知处理。催产素在应激和食物摄入之间的相互作用中也发挥作用，并有助于适应性积极应对行为。
