Arias Del Razo Rocío, Velasco Vazquez Maria de Lourdes, Turcanu Petru, Legrand Mathieu, Lau Allison R, Weinstein Tamara A R, Goetze Leana R, Bales Karen L
Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.
California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, United States.
Front Behav Neurosci. 2022 Jun 22;16:877631. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.877631. eCollection 2022.
In socially monogamous titi monkeys, involuntary separation from a pair mate can produce behavioral distress and increased cortisol production. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is thought to play an important role in the separation response of pair-bonded species. Previous studies from our lab have shown that chronic intranasal oxytocin (IN OXT) during development can have long-term effects on adult social behavior. In the current study, we examined the chronic and acute effects of IN OXT or Saline (SAL) on the subjects' response to a brief separation from their pair mates. Subjects with a history of chronic IN OXT or SAL treatment during development received a single dose of OXT or SAL as adults 30 min before being separated from their pair mate. Chronic treatment consisted of a daily dose of IN OXT (0.8 IU/kg) or SAL (control) from 12 to 18 months of age. Subjects ( = 29) were introduced to a pair mate at 30 months of age. After the pairs had cohabitated for 5 months, pairs underwent two "Brief Separation" (OXT and SAL) and two "Non-Separation" (OXT and SAL) test sessions. Vocalizations and locomotion were measured as behavioral indices of agitation or distress during the Brief Separation and Non-Separation periods (30 min each). We collected blood samples after the Brief Separation and Non-Separation periods to measure cortisol levels. Our results showed subjects treated with chronic OXT had a reduction in long call and peep vocalizations compared to subjects treated with chronic SAL. Subjects treated with chronic SAL and acute OXT produced more peeps and long calls compared to animals treated with acute SAL; however, patterns in this response depended on sex. Cortisol and locomotion were significantly higher during the Brief Separation period compared to the Non-Separation period; however, we did not find any treatment or sex effects. We conclude that chronic IN OXT given during development blunts the separation response, while acute OXT in chronic SAL subjects had sexually dimorphic effects, which could reflect increased partner seeking behaviors in males and increased anxiety in females.
在实行社会性一夫一妻制的伶猴中，与配偶的非自愿分离会引发行为困扰并导致皮质醇分泌增加。神经肽催产素（OXT）被认为在成对结合物种的分离反应中发挥着重要作用。我们实验室之前的研究表明，发育期间长期经鼻给予催产素（IN OXT）会对成年后的社会行为产生长期影响。在本研究中，我们考察了IN OXT或生理盐水（SAL）的长期和急性作用对实验对象与配偶短暂分离反应的影响。在发育期间有长期IN OXT或SAL治疗史的实验对象，在成年后与配偶分离前30分钟接受一剂OXT或SAL。长期治疗包括从12至18月龄开始每日给予IN OXT（0.8 IU/kg）或SAL（对照）。实验对象（n = 29）在30月龄时被介绍给一位配偶。成对的猴子共同生活5个月后，每组经历两次“短暂分离”（OXT和SAL）和两次“非分离”（OXT和SAL）测试环节。在短暂分离和非分离阶段（各30分钟），测量发声和运动情况，作为激动或困扰的行为指标。在短暂分离和非分离阶段结束后采集血样以测量皮质醇水平。我们的结果显示，与长期接受SAL治疗的实验对象相比，长期接受OXT治疗的实验对象长叫和唧啾叫声减少。与接受急性SAL治疗的动物相比，长期接受SAL治疗且接受急性OXT治疗的实验对象发出更多唧啾声和长叫；然而，这种反应模式取决于性别。与非分离阶段相比，短暂分离阶段的皮质醇水平和运动显著更高；不过，我们未发现任何治疗或性别效应。我们得出结论，发育期间长期给予IN OXT会减弱分离反应，而长期接受SAL治疗的实验对象接受急性OXT后会产生性别差异效应，这可能反映出雄性中求偶行为增加，而雌性中焦虑增加。
