Establishing behavioral and physiological functions of central oxytocin: insights from studies of oxytocin and ingestive behaviors.

Plasma oxytocin (OT) levels are strongly correlated with inhibition of ingestion in many models of stimulated food and NaCl intake in rats, but peripheral administration of OT or OT antagonists has little or no effect on these behaviors. These findings led us to propose that central OT secretion from parvocellular neurons occurring in parallel with pituitary secretion from magnocellular neurons acts to inhibit ingestion of both food and salt. Multiple lines of evidence now support this hypothesis: 1) intracerebroventricular (icv) OT administration inhibits food intake in fasted rats and NaCl intake in hypovolemic rats; 2) icv administration of OT-receptor antagonists significantly blunts the effects of anorexigenic agents on food intake and the action of naloxone to inhibit hypovolemia-induced intake of NaCl, but not water; 3) most treatments that inhibit food and/or NaCl intake stimulate expression of c-fos in parvocellular as well as magnocellular OT neurons, indicating simultaneous activation of both centrally-projecting and pituitary-projecting OT neurons; 4) icv treatment with cytotoxic conjugates of ricin A and OT to disable cells bearing OT receptors leads to a disinhibition of NaCl intake similar to that produced by OT antagonists; 5) administration of ethanol, a well known inhibitor of OT secretion, produces effects on stimulated food and NaCl intake in rats analogous to those produced by OT-antagonists and ricin-OT conjugates. In conjunction with studies demonstrating natriuretic effects of circulating OT, these results therefore support the concept of coordinated central and peripheral OT secretion as a mechanism for regulating body solute homeostasis in rats. These phenomena will be used as a framework to discuss and critically evaluate the criteria that are both necessary and sufficient to firmly establish behavioral and physiological functions of centrally-secreted peptides such as OT.