Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Cagliari 09042, Italy.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Cagliari 09042, Italy.
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2021 Jun;58:8-20. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2021.03.002. Epub 2021 Apr 9.
Oxytocin regulates a variety of centrally-mediated functions, ranging from socio-sexual behavior, maternal care, and affiliation to fear, stress, anxiety. In the past years, both clinical and preclinical studies characterized oxytocin for its modulatory role on reward-related neural substrates mainly involving the interplay with the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic pathways. This suggests a role of this nonapeptide on the neurobiology of addiction raising the possibility of its therapeutic use. Although far from a precise knowledge of the underlying mechanisms, the putative role of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis as a key structure where oxytocin may rebalance altered neurochemical processes and neuroplasticity involved in dependence and relapse has been highlighted. This view opens new opportunities to address the health problems related to drug misuse.
催产素调节多种中枢介导的功能，从社交性行为、母性照顾和亲情，到恐惧、压力和焦虑。在过去的几年中，临床前和临床研究都描述了催产素在与奖励相关的神经基质中的调节作用，主要涉及与中脑边缘和中脑皮质多巴胺能通路的相互作用。这表明这种神经肽在成瘾的神经生物学中起作用，从而提高了其治疗用途的可能性。尽管对潜在机制的了解还远远不够，但终纹床核作为一个关键结构的假设作用已经被强调，催产素可能在这个结构中重新平衡与依赖和复发相关的神经化学过程和神经可塑性的改变。这种观点为解决与药物滥用相关的健康问题提供了新的机会。
