Carter C S, Altemus M
Department of Zoology, University of Maryland College Park 20742, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997 Jan 15;807:164-74. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1997.tb51918.x.
For mammalian reproduction to succeed, self-defense and asociality must be subjugated to positive social behaviors, at least during birth, lactation, and sexual behavior. Perhaps the important task of regulating the interaction between social and agonistic behaviors is managed, in part, by interactions between two related neurochemical systems that incorporate oxytocin and vasopressin in their functions. The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin participate in important reproductive functions, such as parturition and lactation, and homeostatic responses, including modulation of the adrenal axis. Recent evidence also implicates these hormones in social aspects of reproductive behaviors. For example, oxytocin is important for a variety of positive social behaviors, including the regulation of maternal-infant interactions. In adult animals, oxytocin may facilitate both social contact and selective social interactions associated with social attachment and pair bonding, and it participates in the regulation of parasympathetic functions. Vasopressin, in contrast, is associated with behaviors that might be broadly classified as "defensive" including enhanced arousal, attention, or vigilance, increased aggressive behavior, and a general increase in sympathetic functions. On the basis of the literature on the functions of these hormones and our own recent findings, we propose that dynamic interactions between oxytocin and vasopressin are components of a larger system which integrates the neuroendocrine and autonomic changes associated with mammalian social behaviors and the concurrent regulation of the stress axis. In addition, studies of lactating females provide a valuable model for understanding the more general neuroendocrinology of the stress axis. Peptide hormones, including oxytocin and vasopressin, do not readily cross the blood-brain barrier and must be administered centrally (i.c.v.) to reach the brain. Nasal sprays have been used to promote milk let down and have been used in some behavioral studies, but the extent to which such compounds reach the brain is not known. Therefore, virtually nothing is known regarding the effects in humans of centrally administered oxytocin. The study of human lactation, in conjunction with animal research, provides an opportunity to begin to develop viable hypotheses regarding the behavioral effects of oxytocin.
为使哺乳动物的繁殖得以成功，至少在分娩、哺乳和性行为期间，自我防御和非社会性必须服从于积极的社会行为。也许调节社会行为与争斗行为之间相互作用的重要任务，部分是由两个相关神经化学系统之间的相互作用来管理的，这两个系统在功能上包含催产素和加压素。神经肽催产素和加压素参与重要的生殖功能，如分娩和哺乳，以及稳态反应，包括肾上腺轴的调节。最近的证据还表明这些激素与生殖行为的社会方面有关。例如，催产素对包括母婴互动调节在内的各种积极社会行为很重要。在成年动物中，催产素可能促进与社会依恋和配对结合相关的社会接触和选择性社会互动，并参与副交感神经功能的调节。相比之下，加压素与可能被广泛归类为“防御性”的行为有关，包括增强觉醒、注意力或警惕性，增加攻击性行为，以及交感神经功能的普遍增强。根据关于这些激素功能的文献以及我们自己最近的研究结果，我们提出催产素和加压素之间的动态相互作用是一个更大系统的组成部分，该系统整合了与哺乳动物社会行为相关的神经内分泌和自主神经变化以及应激轴的同步调节。此外，对哺乳期雌性动物的研究为理解应激轴更一般的神经内分泌学提供了一个有价值的模型。包括催产素和加压素在内的肽类激素不容易穿过血脑屏障，必须通过脑室内注射才能到达大脑。鼻喷雾剂已被用于促进乳汁分泌，并已用于一些行为研究，但这些化合物到达大脑的程度尚不清楚。因此，关于脑室内注射催产素对人类的影响实际上一无所知。对人类哺乳的研究与动物研究相结合，为开始形成关于催产素行为影响的可行假设提供了一个机会。
