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Wang L, Li S, Hao Y, Liu X, Liu Y, Zuo L, Tai F, Yin L, Young LJ, Li D. Exposure to polystyrene microplastics reduces sociality and brain oxytocin levels through the gut-brain axis in mice. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 945:174026. [PMID: 38885706 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 06/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
The rising global prevalence of microplastics (MPs) has highlighted their diverse toxicological effects. The oxytocin (OT) system in mammals, deeply intertwined with social behaviors, is recognized to be vulnerable to environmental stressors. We hypothesized that MP exposure might disrupt this system, a topic not extensively studied. We investigated the effects of MPs on behavioral neuroendocrinology via the gut-brain axis by exposing adolescent male C57BL/6 mice to varied sizes (5 μm and 50 μm) and concentrations (100 μg/L and 1000 μg/L) of polystyrene MPs over 10 weeks. The results demonstrated that exposure to 50 μm MPs significantly reduced colonic mucin production and induced substantial alterations in gut microbiota. Notably, the 50 μm-100 μg/L group showed a significant reduction in OT content within the medial prefrontal cortex and associated deficits in sociality, along with damage to the blood-brain barrier. Importantly, blocking the vagal pathway ameliorated these behavioral impairments, emphasizing the pivotal role of the gut-brain axis in mediating neurobehavioral outcomes. Our findings confirm the toxicity of MPs on sociality and the corresponding neuroendocrine systems, shedding light on the potential hazards and adverse effects of environmental MPs exposure on social behavior and neuroendocrine frameworks in social mammals, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Limin Wang
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China; Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China; Ecology Postdoctoral Research Station at Hebei Normal University, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China
| | - Shuxin Li
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China
| | - Yaotong Hao
- Ocean College, Hebei Agricultural University, Qinhuangdao, Hebei 066003, China
| | - Xu Liu
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China
| | - Yaqing Liu
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China
| | - Lirong Zuo
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China
| | - Fadao Tai
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710062, China
| | - Liyun Yin
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China; Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China
| | - Larry J Young
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 3032, United States; Center for Social Neural Networks, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-857, Japan
| | - Dongming Li
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China; Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China.
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2
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Wirobski G, Crockford C, Deschner T, Neumann ID. Oxytocin and cortisol concentrations in urine and saliva in response to physical exercise in humans. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 168:107144. [PMID: 39053161 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While peripheral markers of endogenous oxytocin and glucocorticoid release are widely employed in psychological and behavioural research, there remains uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of saliva and urine samples in accurately capturing fluctuating hormone levels in response to relevant stimuli. In addition, it is unclear whether and under which conditions, urinary concentrations correlate with salivary levels of oxytocin and cortisol. METHODS In the present study, two groups of healthy adult male and female participants (N=43) provided heart rate, saliva, and urine samples before and after exercising at different durations and intensities (3 ×10 min of running vs. 60 min of running). Effects of age, gender, cycle phase, and previous running experience were considered in the statistical analyses. Concentrations of oxytocin and cortisol were analysed in both saliva, and urine using validated assays. RESULTS Runners of both groups had significantly increased oxytocin concentrations in urine and saliva after running than before. Oxytocin in saliva was elevated after 10 min and peaked after 30 min of running. Only participants of the long-running group showed an increase in urinary cortisol concentrations following exercise (and only after 90 min of stimulus onset), and neither group had a significant increase in salivary cortisol levels. Oxytocin rise in urine and saliva from basal to post-run was strongly and significantly correlated, as was cortisol rise from basal to post-rest, but no correlations between absolute hormone concentrations were found for oxytocin. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that both urine and saliva are useful body fluids that can provide meaningful results when measuring oxytocin and cortisol concentrations after a physical stimulus. While temporal resolution may be better with salivary sampling as higher sampling frequency is possible, signal strength and robustness were better in urinary samples. Importantly, we report a strong correlation between the magnitude of change in oxytocin and cortisol concentrations in urine and saliva following physical exercise, but no correlations between absolute oxytocin concentrations in the two substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendolyn Wirobski
- Department of Behavioural and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria
| | - Catherine Crockford
- The Great Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, Lyon 69675, France
| | - Tobias Deschner
- Comparative BioCognition, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Inga D Neumann
- Department of Behavioural and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
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Shi CN, Wu XM, Gao YZ, Ma DQ, Yang JJ, Ji MH. Oxytocin attenuates neuroinflammation-induced anxiety through restoration of excitation and inhibition balance in the anterior cingulate cortex in mice. J Affect Disord 2024; 362:341-355. [PMID: 38821372 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accumulative evidence suggested that the oxytocin system plays a role in socio-emotional disorders, although its role in neuroinflammation-induced anxiety remains unclear. METHOD In the present study, anxiety-like behavior was induced in cohorts of animals through repeated lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 0.5 mg/kg, daily, Escherichia coli O55:B5) i.p. injections for seven consecutive days. These different cohorts were subsequently used for anxiety-like behavior assessment with open field test, elevated plus maze, and novelty-suppressed feeding test or for electrophysiology (EEG) recordings of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs), miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs), or local field potential (LFP) in vivo or ex vivo settings. Samples of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) from some cohorts were harvested to conduct immunostaining or western blotting analysis of oxytocin, oxytocin receptor, CamkII, GABA, vGAT, vGLUT2, and c-fos. The dendritic spine density was assessed by Golgi-Cox staining. RESULTS Repeated LPS injections induced anxiety-like behavior with concurrent decreases of oxytocin, vGLUT2, mEPSC, dendritic spine, c-fos, membrane excitability, and EEG beta and gamma oscillations, but increased oxytocin receptor and vGAT expressions in the ACC; all these changes were ameliorated by oxytocin intranasal or local brain (via cannula) administration. CONCLUSION Taken together, our data suggested that oxytocin system may be a therapeutic target for developing treatment to tackle neuroinflammation-induced anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cui-Na Shi
- Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xin-Miao Wu
- Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu-Zhu Gao
- Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Da-Qing Ma
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Systems Medicine laboratory, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Children's hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Division of Anaesthetics, Pain Medicine & Intensive Care, Department of Surgery & Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London, UK
| | - Jian-Jun Yang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
| | - Mu-Huo Ji
- Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
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4
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Wilson LC, Riordan A, Nussbaum A, Krawitz J. Heart and shoal: Social cues and oxytocin receptors impact stress recovery in the zebrafish. Physiol Behav 2024; 283:114613. [PMID: 38871154 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
In many species, social interactions decrease behavioral, hormonal, and neural responses to environmental stressors. While "social buffering" and its mechanisms have received considerable attention in mammals, we know less about the phenomenon in fish. The nonapeptide oxytocin regulates social behavior across vertebrates and plays an important role in social buffering in mammals. We investigated social buffering in the zebrafish by evaluating how the social environment and oxytocin receptors impact recovery from an acute stressor. Male and female fish were briefly exposed to alarm substance and recovered either in isolation or within view of a stimulus shoal. Alarm substance did not increase social approach, but social stimuli improved behavioral stress recovery. Oxytocin receptor antagonism decreased social approach during stress recovery and impaired stress recovery exclusively in individuals with access to visual social stimuli. Our findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that social stimuli buffer stress responses in fish and suggest that oxytocin receptors may play a role in socially-buffered stress recovery across taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah C Wilson
- Neuroscience Department, Muhlenberg College, 240W Chew St, Allentown, PA 18104, USA.
| | - Anna Riordan
- Neuroscience Department, Muhlenberg College, 240W Chew St, Allentown, PA 18104, USA
| | - April Nussbaum
- Neuroscience Department, Muhlenberg College, 240W Chew St, Allentown, PA 18104, USA
| | - Jacob Krawitz
- Neuroscience Department, Muhlenberg College, 240W Chew St, Allentown, PA 18104, USA
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5
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McClafferty SR, Paniagua-Ugarte C, Hannabass ZM, Jackson PA, Hayes DM. Comparing the effects of infant maternal and sibling separation on adolescent behavior in rats (Rattus norvegicus). PLoS One 2024; 19:e0308958. [PMID: 39150925 PMCID: PMC11329123 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 08/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Maternal separation in early life has been observed to have lasting, detrimental effects that impair personal and social development and can persist into adulthood. Maternal separation during infancy can be most detrimental during adolescence, leading to long-term adverse effects on development and social behavior. This research study compared the effects of sibling and maternal separation in infancy on anxiety, sociability, or memory later in adolescence (postnatal day, PND, 50-58) in male and female Long-Evans Rats (Rattus norvegicus). Rat pups were semi-randomly assigned into eight conditions for daily isolation (PND 1-14). The groups were separated by the duration of isolation between 15 minutes (control group) or 180 minutes (experimental group) and the sex of the rat. They were also separated by comfort conditions with the dam present in an adjoining cage versus not present and siblings present or not present during isolation. The result was a 2 (15-min vs. 180-min) x 2 (dam vs. no dam) x 2 (single vs. grouped) x 2 (male vs. female) design. Once pups had reached adolescence (PND 50), researchers tested for differences in anxiety, activity, and social behavior using elevated plus-maze, open field habituation, a three-chamber social interaction, and a social discrimination task. Results indicate that longer isolation was more stressful and caused lower body weight. The female rats showed more anxious behavior in the open field but only if they were in the shorter isolation group. Social interaction showed that the rats isolated with the dam had different effects of isolation. In males, shorter isolation with the dam increased sociability but decreased sociability in females. These complicated findings may be due to the effects of inoculation, which describes how moderate stress combined with comfort may produce adaptation or immunity to stress and affect males and females differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane R McClafferty
- Radford University, Radford, VA, United States of America
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | | | | | | | - Dayna M Hayes
- Radford University, Radford, VA, United States of America
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Li Y, Cacciottolo TM, Yin N, He Y, Liu H, Liu H, Yang Y, Henning E, Keogh JM, Lawler K, Mendes de Oliveira E, Gardner EJ, Kentistou KA, Laouris P, Bounds R, Ong KK, Perry JRB, Barroso I, Tu L, Bean JC, Yu M, Conde KM, Wang M, Ginnard O, Fang X, Tong L, Han J, Darwich T, Williams KW, Yang Y, Wang C, Joss S, Firth HV, Xu Y, Farooqi IS. Loss of transient receptor potential channel 5 causes obesity and postpartum depression. Cell 2024; 187:4176-4192.e17. [PMID: 38959890 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Hypothalamic neural circuits regulate instinctive behaviors such as food seeking, the fight/flight response, socialization, and maternal care. Here, we identified microdeletions on chromosome Xq23 disrupting the brain-expressed transient receptor potential (TRP) channel 5 (TRPC5). This family of channels detects sensory stimuli and converts them into electrical signals interpretable by the brain. Male TRPC5 deletion carriers exhibited food seeking, obesity, anxiety, and autism, which were recapitulated in knockin male mice harboring a human loss-of-function TRPC5 mutation. Women carrying TRPC5 deletions had severe postpartum depression. As mothers, female knockin mice exhibited anhedonia and depression-like behavior with impaired care of offspring. Deletion of Trpc5 from oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus caused obesity in both sexes and postpartum depressive behavior in females, while Trpc5 overexpression in oxytocin neurons in knock-in mice reversed these phenotypes. We demonstrate that TRPC5 plays a pivotal role in mediating innate human behaviors fundamental to survival, including food seeking and maternal care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongxiang Li
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Tessa M Cacciottolo
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Na Yin
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yang He
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Hesong Liu
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hailan Liu
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yuxue Yang
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Taizhou People's Hospital, Medical School of Yangzhou University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Elana Henning
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Julia M Keogh
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Katherine Lawler
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Edson Mendes de Oliveira
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Eugene J Gardner
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Katherine A Kentistou
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Panayiotis Laouris
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rebecca Bounds
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ken K Ong
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - John R B Perry
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK; MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Inês Barroso
- Exeter Centre of Excellence for Diabetes Research (EXCEED), University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK
| | - Longlong Tu
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jonathan C Bean
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Meng Yu
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kristine M Conde
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mengjie Wang
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Olivia Ginnard
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xing Fang
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Lydia Tong
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Junying Han
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Tia Darwich
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kevin W Williams
- Center for Hypothalamic Research, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75390-9077, USA
| | - Yongjie Yang
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Chunmei Wang
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Shelagh Joss
- West of Scotland Regional Genetics Service, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, UK
| | - Helen V Firth
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Yong Xu
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - I Sadaf Farooqi
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK.
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7
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Quintana DS, Glaser BD, Kang H, Kildal ESM, Audunsdottir K, Sartorius AM, Barth C. The interplay of oxytocin and sex hormones. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105765. [PMID: 38885888 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin has historically been associated with reproduction and maternal behavior. However, more recent research has uncovered that oxytocin has a much wider range of roles in physiology and behavior. Despite the excitement surrounding potential therapeutical applications of intranasally administered oxytocin, the results of these intervention studies have been inconsistent. Various reasons for these mixed results have been proposed, which tend to focus on methodological issues, such as study design. While methodological issues are certainly important, emerging evidence suggests that the interaction between oxytocin and sex hormones may also account for these varied findings. To better understand the purpose and function of the interaction of oxytocin with sex hormones, with a focus on estrogens, progesterone, and testosterone, we conducted a comprehensive thematic review via four perspectives: evolutionary, developmental, mechanistic, and survival. Altogether, this synergistic approach highlights the critical function of sex hormone activity for accomplishing the diverse roles of oxytocin via the modulation of oxytocin release and oxytocin receptor activity, which is also likely to contribute to the heterogeneity of outcomes after oxytocin administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Quintana
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NevSom, Department of Rare Disorders, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Bernt D Glaser
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Heemin Kang
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Emilie S M Kildal
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychiatry, Lovisenberg Diakonale Sykehus, Oslo, Norway
| | - Kristin Audunsdottir
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Claudia Barth
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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8
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Ma YZ, Zhang YS, Cao JX, Chen HC, Su XM, Li B, Kang YT, Gao LP, Jing YH. Aberration of social behavior and gut microbiota induced by cross-fostering implicating the gut-brain axis. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 120:499-512. [PMID: 38944162 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.06.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The gut microbiota and neurological development of neonatal mice are susceptible to environmental factors that may lead to altered behavior into adulthood. However, the role that changed gut microbiota and neurodevelopment early in life play in this needs to be clarified. In this study, by modeling early-life environmental changes by cross-fostering BALB/c mice, we revealed the effects of the environment during the critical period of postnatal development on adult social behavior and their relationship with the gut microbiota and the nervous system. The neural projections exist between the ascending colon and oxytocin neurons in the paraventricular nuclei (PVN), peripheral oxytocin levels and PVN neuron numbers decreased after cross-fostering, and sex-specific alteration in gut microbiota and its metabolites may be involved in social impairments and immune imbalances brought by cross-fostering via the gut-brain axis. Our findings also suggest that social cognitive impairment may result from a combination of PVN oxytocinergic neurons, gut microbiota, and metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue-Zhang Ma
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China; Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi-Shu Zhang
- Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China
| | - Jia-Xin Cao
- Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China
| | - Hai-Chao Chen
- Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Mei Su
- Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China
| | - Bing Li
- Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi-Ting Kang
- Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China
| | - Li-Ping Gao
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yu-Hong Jing
- Institute of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Neuroscience, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Preclinical Study for New Drugs of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China.
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9
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Sofer Y, Zilkha N, Gimpel E, Wagner S, Chuartzman SG, Kimchi T. Sexually dimorphic oxytocin circuits drive intragroup social conflict and aggression in wild house mice. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:1565-1573. [PMID: 38969756 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01685-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024]
Abstract
In nature, both males and females engage in competitive aggressive interactions to resolve social conflicts, yet the behavioral principles guiding such interactions and their underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. Through circuit manipulations in wild mice, we unveil oxytocin-expressing (OT+) neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) as a neural hub governing behavior in dyadic and intragroup social conflicts, influencing the degree of behavioral sexual dimorphism. We demonstrate that OT+ PVN neurons are essential and sufficient in promoting aggression and dominance hierarchies, predominantly in females. Furthermore, pharmacogenetic activation of these neurons induces a change in the 'personality' traits of the mice within groups, in a sex-dependent manner. Finally, we identify an innervation from these OT neurons to the ventral tegmental area that drives dyadic aggression, in a sex-specific manner. Our data suggest that competitive aggression in naturalistic settings is mediated by a sexually dimorphic OT network connected with reward-related circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yizhak Sofer
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Noga Zilkha
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Elena Gimpel
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Shlomo Wagner
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | | | - Tali Kimchi
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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10
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Kareklas K, Oliveira RF. Emotional contagion and prosocial behaviour in fish: An evolutionary and mechanistic approach. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105780. [PMID: 38955311 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
In this review, we consider the definitions and experimental approaches to emotional contagion and prosocial behaviour in mammals and explore their evolutionary conceptualisation for studying their occurrence in the evolutionarily divergent vertebrate group of ray-finned fish. We present evidence for a diverse set of fish phenotypes that meet definitional criteria for prosocial behaviour and emotional contagion and discuss conserved mechanisms that may account for some preserved social capacities in fish. Finally, we provide some considerations on how to address the question of interdependency between emotional contagion and prosocial response, highlighting the importance of recognition processes, decision-making systems, and ecological context for providing evolutionary explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyriacos Kareklas
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, R. Q.ta Grande 6, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal
| | - Rui F Oliveira
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, R. Q.ta Grande 6, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal; ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, Lisboa 1149-041, Portugal.
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11
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Ramos EN, Jiron GM, Danoff JS, Anderson Z, Carter CS, Perkeybile AM, Connelly JJ, Erisir A. The central oxytocinergic system of the prairie vole. Brain Struct Funct 2024:10.1007/s00429-024-02832-1. [PMID: 39042140 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02832-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 07/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT) is a peptide hormone and a neuropeptide that regulates various peripheral physiological processes and modulates behavioral responses in the central nervous system. While the humoral release occurs from the axons arriving at the median eminence, the neuropeptide is also released from oxytocinergic cell axons in various brain structures that contain its receptor, and from their dendrites in hypothalamic nuclei and potentially into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Understanding oxytocin's complex functions requires the knowledge on patterns of oxytocinergic projections in relationship to its receptor (OXTR). This study provides the first comprehensive examination of the oxytocinergic system in the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), an animal exhibiting social behaviors that mirror human social behaviors linked to oxytocinergic functioning. Using light and electron microscopy, we characterized the neuroanatomy of the oxytocinergic system in this species. OXT+ cell bodies were found primarily in the hypothalamus, and axons were densest in subcortical regions. Examination of the OXT+ fibers and their relationship to oxytocin receptor transcripts (Oxtr) revealed that except for some subcortical structures, the presence of axons was not correlated with the amount of Oxtr across the brain. Of particular interest, the cerebral cortex that had high expression of Oxtr transcripts contained little to no fibers. Electron microscopy is used to quantify dense cored vesicles (DCV) in OXT+ axons and to identify potential axonal release sites. The ependymal cells that line the ventricles were frequently permissive of DCV-containing OXT+ dendrites reaching the third ventricle. Our results highlight a mechanism in which oxytocin is released directly into the ventricles and circulates throughout the ventricular system, may serve as the primary source for oxytocin that binds to OXTR in the cerebral cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- E N Ramos
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - G M Jiron
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - J S Danoff
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Z Anderson
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - C S Carter
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - A M Perkeybile
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - J J Connelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - A Erisir
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
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12
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Rea JJ, Liu CM, Hayes AMR, Bashaw AG, Schwartz G, Ohan R, Décarie-Spain L, Kao AE, Klug ME, Phung KJ, Waldow AI, Wood RI, Kanoski SE. Hippocampus oxytocin signaling promotes prosocial eating in rats. Biol Psychiatry 2024:S0006-3223(24)01462-8. [PMID: 39038641 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 07/07/2024] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Oxytocin (OT) is a hypothalamic neuropeptide involved in diverse physiological and behavioral functions, including social-based behavior and food intake control. The extent that OT's role in regulating these two fundamental behaviors is interconnected is unknown and is a critical gap given that social factors have a strong influence on eating behavior in mammals. Here we focus on OT signaling in the dorsal hippocampus (HPCd), a brain region recently linked with eating and social memory, as a candidate system where these functions overlap. METHODS HPCd OT signaling gain- and loss-of-function strategies were employed in male Sprague-Dawley rats that were trained in a novel social eating procedure to consume their first nocturnal meal under conditions that vary with regards to conspecific presence and familiarity. The endogenous role of HPCd OT signaling was also evaluated for olfactory-based social transmission of food preference learning, sociality, and social recognition memory. RESULTS HPCd OT administration had no effect on food intake under isolated conditions, yet significantly increased consumption in the presence of a familiar, but not an unfamiliar conspecific. Supporting these results, chronic knockdown of HPCd OT receptor expression eliminated the food intake-promoting effects of a familiar conspecific. HPCd OT receptor knockdown also blocked social transmission of food preference learning and impaired social recognition memory without affecting sociality. CONCLUSION Collective results identify endogenous HPCd OT signaling as a novel substrate where OT synergistically influences eating and social behaviors, including the social facilitation of eating and the social transmission of food preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica J Rea
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Clarissa M Liu
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Anna M R Hayes
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Alexander G Bashaw
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Grace Schwartz
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Rita Ohan
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Léa Décarie-Spain
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Alicia E Kao
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Molly E Klug
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Kenneth J Phung
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Alice I Waldow
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Ruth I Wood
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, USA; Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Scott E Kanoski
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, USA.
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13
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Láng T, Dimén D, Oláh S, Puska G, Dobolyi A. Medial preoptic circuits governing instinctive social behaviors. iScience 2024; 27:110296. [PMID: 39055958 PMCID: PMC11269931 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The medial preoptic area (MPOA) has long been implicated in maternal and male sexual behavior. Modern neuroscience methods have begun to reveal the cellular networks responsible, while also implicating the MPOA in other social behaviors, affiliative social touch, and aggression. The social interactions rely on input from conspecifics whose most important modalities in rodents are olfaction and somatosensation. These inputs bypass the cerebral cortex to reach the MPOA to influence the social function. Hormonal inputs also directly act on MPOA neurons. In turn, the MPOA controls social responses via various projections for reward and motor output. The MPOA thus emerges as one of the major brain centers for instinctive social behavior. While key elements of MPOA circuits have been identified, a synthesis of these new data is now provided for further studies to reveal the mechanisms by which the area controls social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamás Láng
- Laboratory of Neuromorphology, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Diána Dimén
- Laboratory of Neuromorphology, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Addiction and Neuroplasticity Laboratory, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Szilvia Oláh
- Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gina Puska
- Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Arpád Dobolyi
- Laboratory of Neuromorphology, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Laboratory of Molecular and Systems Neurobiology, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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14
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Herrera ML, Paraíso-Luna J, Bustos-Martínez I, Barco Á. Targeting epigenetic dysregulation in autism spectrum disorders. Trends Mol Med 2024:S1471-4914(24)00162-X. [PMID: 38971705 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2024.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 06/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a range of neurodevelopmental pathologies characterized by deficits in social interaction and repetitive behaviors, collectively affecting almost 1% of the worldwide population. Deciphering the etiology of ASD has proven challenging due to the intricate interplay of genetic and environmental factors and the variety of molecular pathways affected. Epigenomic alterations have emerged as key players in ASD etiology. Their research has led to the identification of biomarkers for diagnosis and pinpointed specific gene targets for therapeutic interventions. This review examines the role of epigenetic alterations, resulting from both genetic and environmental influences, as a central causative factor in ASD, delving into its contribution to pathogenesis and treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macarena L Herrera
- Instituto de Neurociencias (Universidad Miguel Hernández - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Av. Santiago Ramón y Cajal s/n, Sant Joan d'Alacant, 03550 Alicante, Spain
| | - Juan Paraíso-Luna
- Instituto de Neurociencias (Universidad Miguel Hernández - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Av. Santiago Ramón y Cajal s/n, Sant Joan d'Alacant, 03550 Alicante, Spain
| | - Isabel Bustos-Martínez
- Instituto de Neurociencias (Universidad Miguel Hernández - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Av. Santiago Ramón y Cajal s/n, Sant Joan d'Alacant, 03550 Alicante, Spain
| | - Ángel Barco
- Instituto de Neurociencias (Universidad Miguel Hernández - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Av. Santiago Ramón y Cajal s/n, Sant Joan d'Alacant, 03550 Alicante, Spain.
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15
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Walia V, Wal P, Mishra S, Agrawal A, Kosey S, Dilipkumar Patil A. Potential role of oxytocin in the regulation of memories and treatment of memory disorders. Peptides 2024; 177:171222. [PMID: 38649032 DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2024.171222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT) is an "affiliative" hormone or neurohormone or neuropeptide consists of nine amino acids, synthesized in magnocellular neurons of paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic nuclei (SON) of hypothalamus. OXT receptors are widely distributed in various region of brain and OXT has been shown to regulate various social and nonsocial behavior. Hippocampus is the main region which regulates the learning and memory. Hippocampus particularly regulates the acquisition of new memories and retention of acquired memories. OXT has been shown to regulate the synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, and consolidation of memories. Further, findings from both preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that the OXT treatment improves performance in memory related task. Various trials have suggested the positive impact of intranasal OXT in the dementia patients. However, these studies are limited in number. In the present study authors have highlighted the role of OXT in the formation and retrieval of memories. Further, the study demonstrated the outcome of OXT treatment in various memory and related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaibhav Walia
- SGT College of Pharmacy, SGT University, Gurugram, Haryana, India.
| | - Pranay Wal
- PSIT-Pranveer Singh Institute of Technology (Pharmacy), Kanpur, UP 209305, India
| | - Shweta Mishra
- SGT College of Pharmacy, SGT University, Gurugram, Haryana, India
| | - Ankur Agrawal
- Jai Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Gwalior, MP, India
| | - Sourabh Kosey
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga, Punjab, India
| | - Aditya Dilipkumar Patil
- Founder, Tech Hom Research Solutions (THRS), Plot no. 38, 1st floor, opposite to biroba mandir, near ST stand, Satara, Maharashtra 415110, India
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16
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Li SW, Kietzman HW, Taylor JR, Chang SWC. The Evolving Landscape of Social Neuroscience and Its Implications for Psychiatry. Biol Psychiatry 2024:S0006-3223(24)01384-2. [PMID: 38878810 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2024] [Revised: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- S William Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Henry W Kietzman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jane R Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
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17
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Arellano Perez AD, Kautzmann AS, de Oliveira Alvares L. Social interaction-induced fear memory reduction: exploring the influence of dopamine and oxytocin receptors on memory updating. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:242. [PMID: 38844463 PMCID: PMC11156639 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02955-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been well established that a consolidated memory can be updated during the plastic state induced by reactivation. This updating process opens the possibility to modify maladaptive memory. In the present study, we evaluated whether fear memory could be updated to less-aversive level by incorporating hedonic information during reactivation. Thus, male rats were fear conditioned and, during retrieval, a female was presented as a social rewarding stimulus. We found that memory reactivation with a female (but not a male) reduces fear expression within-session and in the test, without presenting reinstatement or spontaneous recovery. Interestingly, this intervention impaired extinction. Finally, we demonstrated that this emotional remodeling to eliminate fear expression requires the activation of dopamine and oxytocin receptors during retrieval. Hence, these results shed new lights on the memory updating process and suggests that the exposure to natural rewarding information such as a female during retrieval reduces a previously consolidated fear memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angel David Arellano Perez
- Departamento de Biofísica, Laboratório de Neurobiologia da Memória, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Programa da Pós-Graduação em Neurociências. Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde (ICBS). Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Aline Sartori Kautzmann
- Departamento de Biofísica, Laboratório de Neurobiologia da Memória, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Lucas de Oliveira Alvares
- Departamento de Biofísica, Laboratório de Neurobiologia da Memória, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
- Programa da Pós-Graduação em Neurociências. Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde (ICBS). Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
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18
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Zhang Y, Karadas M, Liu J, Gu X, Vöröslakos M, Li Y, Tsien RW, Buzsáki G. Interaction of acetylcholine and oxytocin neuromodulation in the hippocampus. Neuron 2024; 112:1862-1875.e5. [PMID: 38537642 PMCID: PMC11156550 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
A postulated role of subcortical neuromodulators is to control brain states. Mechanisms by which different neuromodulators compete or cooperate at various temporal scales remain an open question. We investigated the interaction of acetylcholine (ACh) and oxytocin (OXT) at slow and fast timescales during various brain states. Although these neuromodulators fluctuated in parallel during NREM packets, transitions from NREM to REM were characterized by a surge of ACh but a continued decrease of OXT. OXT signaling lagged behind ACh. High ACh was correlated with population synchrony and gamma oscillations during active waking, whereas minimum ACh predicts sharp-wave ripples (SPW-Rs). Optogenetic control of ACh and OXT neurons confirmed the active role of these neuromodulators in the observed correlations. Synchronous hippocampal activity consistently reduced OXT activity, whereas inactivation of the lateral septum-hypothalamus path attenuated this effect. Our findings demonstrate how cooperative actions of these neuromodulators allow target circuits to perform specific functions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Xinyi Gu
- Neuroscience Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Yulong Li
- School of Life Science, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Richard W Tsien
- Neuroscience Institute, New York, NY, USA; Department of Neurology, Langone Medical Center, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - György Buzsáki
- Neuroscience Institute, New York, NY, USA; Department of Neurology, Langone Medical Center, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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19
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Mahdavi K, Zendehdel M, Zarei H. The role of central neurotransmitters in appetite regulation of broilers and layers: similarities and differences. Vet Res Commun 2024; 48:1313-1328. [PMID: 38286893 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-024-10312-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
The importance of feeding as a vital physiological function, on the one hand, and the spread of complications induced by its disorder in humans and animals, on the other hand, have led to extensive research on its regulatory factors. Unfortunately, despite many studies focused on appetite, only limited experiments have been conducted on avian, and our knowledge of this species is scant. Considering this, the purpose of this review article is to examine the role of central neurotransmitters in regulating food consumption in broilers and layers and highlight the similarities and differences between these two strains. The methodology of this review study includes a comprehensive search of relevant literature on the topic using appropriate keywords in reliable electronic databases. Based on the findings, the central effect of most neurotransmitters on the feeding of broilers and laying chickens was similar, but in some cases, such as dopamine, ghrelin, nitric oxide, and agouti-related peptide, differences were observed. Also, the lack of conducting a study on the role of some neurotransmitters in one of the bird strains made it impossible to make an exact comparison. Finally, it seems that although there are general similarities in appetite regulatory mechanisms in meat and egg-type chickens, the long-term genetic selection appropriate to breeding goals (meat or egg production) has caused differences in the effect of some neurotransmitters. Undoubtedly, conducting future studies while completing the missing links can lead to a comprehensive understanding of this process and its manipulation according to the breeding purposes of chickens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimia Mahdavi
- Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, 14155-6453, Iran
| | - Morteza Zendehdel
- Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, 14155-6453, Iran.
| | - Hamed Zarei
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Science, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
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20
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Rogers JF, Vandendoren M, Prather JF, Landen JG, Bedford NL, Nelson AC. Neural cell-types and circuits linking thermoregulation and social behavior. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 161:105667. [PMID: 38599356 PMCID: PMC11163828 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Understanding how social and affective behavioral states are controlled by neural circuits is a fundamental challenge in neurobiology. Despite increasing understanding of central circuits governing prosocial and agonistic interactions, how bodily autonomic processes regulate these behaviors is less resolved. Thermoregulation is vital for maintaining homeostasis, but also associated with cognitive, physical, affective, and behavioral states. Here, we posit that adjusting body temperature may be integral to the appropriate expression of social behavior and argue that understanding neural links between behavior and thermoregulation is timely. First, changes in behavioral states-including social interaction-often accompany changes in body temperature. Second, recent work has uncovered neural populations controlling both thermoregulatory and social behavioral pathways. We identify additional neural populations that, in separate studies, control social behavior and thermoregulation, and highlight their relevance to human and animal studies. Third, dysregulation of body temperature is linked to human neuropsychiatric disorders. Although body temperature is a "hidden state" in many neurobiological studies, it likely plays an underappreciated role in regulating social and affective states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph F Rogers
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA; University of Wyoming Sensory Biology Center, USA
| | - Morgane Vandendoren
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA; University of Wyoming Sensory Biology Center, USA
| | - Jonathan F Prather
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Jason G Landen
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA; University of Wyoming Sensory Biology Center, USA
| | - Nicole L Bedford
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Adam C Nelson
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA; University of Wyoming Sensory Biology Center, USA.
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21
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Berceanu AI, Papasteri C, Sofonea A, Boldasu R, Nita D, Poalelungi C, Froemke R, Carcea I. Oxytocin predicts positive affect gains in a role-play interaction. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1258254. [PMID: 38873527 PMCID: PMC11169887 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1258254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Role-play, a key creative process in theatre, is used in therapeutic interventions to improve social skills, emotion regulation, and memory. Although role-play is widely used as a psychotherapeutic technique, its mechanisms of action are not fully understood. Methods Our study introduces a standardized controlled procedure for promoting role-play in the laboratory based on the portrayal of a fictional persona and examines its effects on anxiety, affect, prosocial attitudes, and salivary oxytocin dynamics in 38 participants. Results In our experiment, role-play significantly increased positive affect and prosocial attitudes and decreased anxiety compared to a control condition. Basal salivary oxytocin levels predicted higher gains in positive affect following role-play, suggesting a specific moderating effect of oxytocin. The fictional persona used in the procedure was rated as very happy by subjects, creating a positive social context for the role-play social interaction. Discussions We propose that the observed moderation effect of oxytocin in our study is specific to the role-play condition due to the capacity of role-play to generate an affective regulatory context based on congruency toward the emotional state of the fictional persona. Our findings indicate that basal oxytocin levels could predict specific outcomes of role-play in therapeutical setting. We discuss several psychological and biological mechanisms that could account for the observed effects of role-play and how oxytocin could act as a substrate for them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandru I. Berceanu
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- Department for Animation and Interactivity, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Claudiu Papasteri
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Alexandra Sofonea
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Romina Boldasu
- Acting Department Theatre Faculty, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Diana Nita
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Cătălina Poalelungi
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- National Institute of Endocrinology C. I. Parhon, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Robert Froemke
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular, School of Medicine, New York University, NY, United States
| | - Ioana Carcea
- Cognitive Development and Applied Psychology through Immersive Experiences, LDCAPEI, CINETic Centre, National University of Theatre and Film I. L. Caragiale, Bucharest, Romania
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, Brain Health Institute, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, United States
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22
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Premoli M, Carone M, Mastinu A, Maccarinelli G, Aria F, Mac Sweeney E, Memo M, Bonini SA. Cannabis Sativa Oil Promotes Social Interaction and Ultrasonic Communication by Acting on Oxytocin Pathway. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res 2024. [PMID: 38800950 DOI: 10.1089/can.2024.0062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective: Cannabis sativa is the most used recreational drug worldwide. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the potential therapeutic benefits of medicinal cannabis to treat a variety of psychiatric and neurological conditions. In particular, cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychoactive cannabis constituent, has been investigated for its potential prosocial effects on behavior, although the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a C. sativa oil CBD rich (CS oil) on social interaction and ultrasonic communication in mice. Study Design: Twenty-seven adult male mice (B6; 129P F2) were treated daily with vehicle or CS oil for 2 weeks. At Day 14, mice were tested for behavior (social interaction test and ultrasonic communication). Forty minutes before the behavioral tests, mice were exposed to intranasal treatment with vehicle or the oxytocin receptor antagonist, L-371,257. After behavioral tests, VH- and CS oil-treated mice were sacrificed, RNA was extracted from the hypothalamus and used for quantitative Real Time-PCR experiments. Results: We found that a 2-week treatment with the CS oil on mice exerted a prosocial effect associated with an increase in ultrasonic vocalizations. These effects were inhibited by pretreating mice with an oxytocin receptor antagonist. In addition, at the molecular level, we found that CS oil treatment caused a significant increase in oxytocin and a decrease in oxytocin receptor expression levels in the brain hypothalamus. Conclusion: Our results suggest that CS oil promotes social behavior by acting on oxytocin pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marinella Carone
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Andrea Mastinu
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Aria
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Eileen Mac Sweeney
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Maurizio Memo
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Sara Anna Bonini
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
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23
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Kurth L, O'Shea TM, Burd I, Dunlop AL, Croen L, Wilkening G, Hsu TJ, Ehrhardt S, Palanisamy A, McGrath M, Churchill ML, Weinberger D, Grados M, Dabelea D. Intrapartum exposure to synthetic oxytocin, maternal BMI, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children within the ECHO consortium. J Neurodev Disord 2024; 16:26. [PMID: 38796448 PMCID: PMC11128127 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-024-09540-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Synthetic oxytocin (sOT) is frequently administered during parturition. Studies have raised concerns that fetal exposure to sOT may be associated with altered brain development and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. In a large and diverse sample of children with data about intrapartum sOT exposure and subsequent diagnoses of two prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders, i.e., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we tested the following hypotheses: (1) Intrapartum sOT exposure is associated with increased odds of child ADHD or ASD; (2) associations differ across sex; (3) associations between intrapartum sOT exposure and ADHD or ASD are accentuated in offspring of mothers with pre-pregnancy obesity. METHODS The study sample comprised 12,503 participants from 44 cohort sites included in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium. Mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the association between intrapartum sOT exposure and offspring ADHD or ASD (in separate models). Maternal obesity (pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and child sex were evaluated for effect modification. RESULTS Intrapartum sOT exposure was present in 48% of participants. sOT exposure was not associated with increased odds of ASD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71-1.03) or ADHD (aOR 0.89; 95% CI, 0.76-1.04). Associations did not differ by child sex. Among mothers with pre-pregnancy obesity, sOT exposure was associated with lower odds of offspring ADHD (aOR 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55-0.96). No association was found among mothers without obesity (aOR 0.97; 95% CI, 0.80-1.18). CONCLUSIONS In a large, diverse sample, we found no evidence of an association between intrapartum exposure to sOT and odds of ADHD or ASD in either male or female offspring. Contrary to our hypothesis, among mothers with pre-pregnancy obesity, sOT exposure was associated with lower odds of child ADHD diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Kurth
- Department of Pediatrics, Developmental Section, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 13123 E. 16th Ave. B065, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
| | - T Michael O'Shea
- Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Irina Burd
- Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Anne L Dunlop
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Lisa Croen
- Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Northern California, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Greta Wilkening
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Ting-Ju Hsu
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Stephan Ehrhardt
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Arvind Palanisamy
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Monica McGrath
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marie L Churchill
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Daniel Weinberger
- Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- The Lieber institute for Brain Development, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marco Grados
- Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Dana Dabelea
- Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
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24
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Wu G, Ou Y, Feng Z, Xiong Z, Li K, Che M, Qi S, Zhou M. Oxytocin attenuates hypothalamic injury-induced cognitive dysfunction by inhibiting hippocampal ERK signaling and Aβ deposition. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:208. [PMID: 38796566 PMCID: PMC11127955 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02930-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In clinical settings, tumor compression, trauma, surgical injury, and other types of injury can cause hypothalamic damage, resulting in various types of hypothalamic dysfunction. Impaired release of oxytocin can lead to cognitive impairment and affect prognosis and long-term quality of life after hypothalamic injury. Hypothalamic injury-induced cognitive dysfunction was detected in male animals. Behavioral parameters were measured to assess the characteristics of cognitive dysfunction induced by hypothalamic-pituitary stalk lesions. Brains were collected for high-throughput RNA sequencing and immunostaining to identify pathophysiological changes in hippocampal regions highly associated with cognitive function after injury to corresponding hypothalamic areas. Through transcriptomic analysis, we confirmed the loss of oxytocin neurons after hypothalamic injury and the reversal of hypothalamic-induced cognitive dysfunction after oxytocin supplementation. Furthermore, overactivation of the ERK signaling pathway and β-amyloid deposition in the hippocampal region after hypothalamic injury were observed, and cognitive function was restored after inhibition of ERK signaling pathway overactivation. Our findings suggest that cognitive dysfunction after hypothalamic injury may be caused by ERK hyperphosphorylation in the hippocampal region resulting from a decrease in the number of oxytocin neurons, which in turn causes β-amyloid deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangsen Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yichao Ou
- Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhanpeng Feng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhiwei Xiong
- Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kai Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengjie Che
- Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Songtao Qi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Mingfeng Zhou
- Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
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25
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Adams JAM, Komatsu N, Navarro N, Leem E, Sun X, Zhao J, Arias-Soto OI, Landry MP. Near infrared fluorescent nanosensors for high spatiotemporal oxytocin imaging. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.10.593556. [PMID: 38766215 PMCID: PMC11100785 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.10.593556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Oxytocin is a neuropeptide thought to play a central role in regulating social and emotional behavior. Current techniques for neuropeptide imaging are generally limited in spatial and temporal resolution, real-time imaging capacity, selectivity for oxytocin over vasopressin, and application in young and non-model organisms. To avoid the use of endogenous oxytocin receptors for oxytocin probe development, we employed a protocol to evolve purely synthetic molecular recognition on the surface of near-infrared fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) using single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). This probe reversibly undergoes up to a 172% fluorescence increase in response to oxytocin with a K d of 4.93 μM. Furthermore, this probe responds selectively to oxytocin over oxytocin analogs, receptor agonists and antagonists, and most other neurochemicals. Lastly, we show our probe can image synaptic evoked oxytocin release in live mouse brain slices. Optical probes with the specificity and resolution requisite to image endogenous oxytocin signaling can advance the study of oxytocin neurotransmission for its role in both health and disease.
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26
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Inada K. Neurobiological mechanisms underlying oxytocin-mediated parental behavior in rodents. Neurosci Res 2024:S0168-0102(24)00052-X. [PMID: 38642676 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2024.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
Parental behavior is essential for mammalian offspring to survive. Because of this significance, elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms that facilitate parental behavior has received strong interest. Decades of studies utilizing pharmacology and molecular biology have revealed that in addition to its facilitatory effects on parturition and lactation, oxytocin (OT) promotes the expression of parental behavior in rodents. Recent studies have also described the modulation of sensory processing by OT and the interaction of the OT system with other brain regions associated with parental behavior. However, the precise neurobiological mechanisms underlying the facilitation of caregiving behaviors by OT remain unclear. In this Review, I summarize the findings from rats and mice with a view toward integrating past and recent progress. I then review recent advances in the understanding of the molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms of OT-mediated parental behavior. Based on these observations, I propose a hypothetical model that would explain the mechanisms underlying OT-mediated parental behavior. Finally, I conclude by discussing some major remaining questions and propose potential future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kengo Inada
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 2-2-3 Minatojima minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan.
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27
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McGetrick J, Fux L, Schullern-Schrattenhofen J, Rault JL, Range F. Do pet dogs reciprocate the receipt of food from familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics? Ethology 2024; 130:eth.13430. [PMID: 39100737 PMCID: PMC7616333 DOI: 10.1111/eth.13430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2024]
Abstract
Reciprocity is one of the most prominent explanations for the evolution of stable cooperation. Although reciprocity has been studied for decades in numerous animal species and behavioural contexts, its underlying proximate mechanisms remain unclear. Domestic dogs provide a useful model species for the study of proximate mechanisms, though there are currently inconsistent findings regarding dogs' propensity to reciprocate. Here, we investigated whether, after minimal training, pet dogs would press a button, which remotely controlled a food dispenser, to deliver food to an enclosure occupied by a helpful conspecific that had provided them with food or an unhelpful conspecific that had not provided them with food. We included an asocial control condition in which the enclosure was unoccupied and a social facilitation control in which the food delivery mechanism was non-functional. Whether subjects were familiar with the helpful and unhelpful conspecifics was also varied. In addition, to investigate potential mechanisms underlying reciprocity, we measured subjects salivary oxytocin concentration before and after they experienced the helpful and unhelpful acts. There was no effect of the previous helpfulness or the familiarity of the partner on the number of times subjects pressed the button. However, there was also no effect of the presence of a partner or the operationality of the food delivery mechanism on the number of button presses, indicating that subjects were not pressing the button to provision the partner. Moreover, the experience of the helpful or unhelpful act did not influence subjects' salivary oxytocin concentration. Variation in findings of reciprocity across studies appears to correspond with differing training protocols. Subjects' understanding of the task in the current study may have been constrained by the limited training received. Additional tests to verify subjects' understanding of such tasks are warranted in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jim McGetrick
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Leona Fux
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Jean-Loup Rault
- Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Friederike Range
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
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28
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Stringaris A, Silver J. Mechanism-Focused Randomized Controlled Trials in Youths: Another Step Uphill. Am J Psychiatry 2024; 181:259-261. [PMID: 38557144 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20240123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Argyris Stringaris
- Division of Psychiatry (Stringaris) and Division Psychology and Language Sciences (Stringaris, Silver), Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London; First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece (Stringaris); Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, N.Y. (Silver)
| | - Jamilah Silver
- Division of Psychiatry (Stringaris) and Division Psychology and Language Sciences (Stringaris, Silver), Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London; First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece (Stringaris); Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, N.Y. (Silver)
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29
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Ford CL, McDonough AA, Horie K, Young LJ. Melanocortin agonism in a social context selectively activates nucleus accumbens in an oxytocin-dependent manner. Neuropharmacology 2024; 247:109848. [PMID: 38253222 PMCID: PMC10923148 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.109848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Social deficits are debilitating features of many psychiatric disorders, including autism. While time-intensive behavioral therapy is moderately effective, there are no pharmacological interventions for social deficits in autism. Many studies have attempted to treat social deficits using the neuropeptide oxytocin for its powerful neuromodulatory abilities and influence on social behaviors and cognition. However, clinical trials utilizing supplementation paradigms in which exogenous oxytocin is chronically administered independent of context have failed. An alternative treatment paradigm suggests pharmacologically activating the endogenous oxytocin system during behavioral therapy to enhance the efficacy of therapy by facilitating social learning. To this end, melanocortin receptor agonists like Melanotan II (MTII), which induces central oxytocin release and accelerates formation of partner preference, a form of social learning, in prairie voles, are promising pharmacological tools. To model pharmacological activation of the endogenous oxytocin system during behavioral therapy, we administered MTII prior to social interactions between male and female voles. We assessed its effect on oxytocin-dependent activity in brain regions subserving social learning using Fos expression as a proxy for neuronal activation. In non-social contexts, MTII only activated hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, a primary site of oxytocin synthesis. However, during social interactions, MTII selectively increased oxytocin-dependent activation of nucleus accumbens, a site critical for social learning. These results suggest a mechanism for the MTII-induced acceleration of partner preference formation observed in previous studies. Moreover, they are consistent with the hypothesis that pharmacologically activating the endogenous oxytocin system with a melanocortin agonist during behavioral therapy has potential to facilitate social learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles L Ford
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA.
| | - Anna A McDonough
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Kengo Horie
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Larry J Young
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
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30
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Wagner H, Egelhaaf M, Carr C. Model organisms and systems in neuroethology: one hundred years of history and a look into the future. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2024; 210:227-242. [PMID: 38227005 PMCID: PMC10995084 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01685-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
The Journal of Comparative Physiology lived up to its name in the last 100 years by including more than 1500 different taxa in almost 10,000 publications. Seventeen phyla of the animal kingdom were represented. The honeybee (Apis mellifera) is the taxon with most publications, followed by locust (Locusta migratoria), crayfishes (Cambarus spp.), and fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster). The representation of species in this journal in the past, thus, differs much from the 13 model systems as named by the National Institutes of Health (USA). We mention major accomplishments of research on species with specific adaptations, specialist animals, for example, the quantitative description of the processes underlying the axon potential in squid (Loligo forbesii) and the isolation of the first receptor channel in the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) and electric ray (Torpedo spp.). Future neuroethological work should make the recent genetic and technological developments available for specialist animals. There are many research questions left that may be answered with high yield in specialists and some questions that can only be answered in specialists. Moreover, the adaptations of animals that occupy specific ecological niches often lend themselves to biomimetic applications. We go into some depth in explaining our thoughts in the research of motion vision in insects, sound localization in barn owls, and electroreception in weakly electric fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hermann Wagner
- Institute of Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Catherine Carr
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, USA
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31
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Ma P, Chen P, Tilden EI, Aggarwal S, Oldenborg A, Chen Y. Fast and slow: Recording neuromodulator dynamics across both transient and chronic time scales. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadi0643. [PMID: 38381826 PMCID: PMC10881037 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi0643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Neuromodulators transform animal behaviors. Recent research has demonstrated the importance of both sustained and transient change in neuromodulators, likely due to tonic and phasic neuromodulator release. However, no method could simultaneously record both types of dynamics. Fluorescence lifetime of optical reporters could offer a solution because it allows high temporal resolution and is impervious to sensor expression differences across chronic periods. Nevertheless, no fluorescence lifetime change across the entire classes of neuromodulator sensors was previously known. Unexpectedly, we find that several intensity-based neuromodulator sensors also exhibit fluorescence lifetime responses. Furthermore, we show that lifetime measures in vivo neuromodulator dynamics both with high temporal resolution and with consistency across animals and time. Thus, we report a method that can simultaneously measure neuromodulator change over transient and chronic time scales, promising to reveal the roles of multi-time scale neuromodulator dynamics in diseases, in response to therapies, and across development and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pingchuan Ma
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Peter Chen
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Master’s Program in Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Elizabeth I. Tilden
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Samarth Aggarwal
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Anna Oldenborg
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Yao Chen
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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32
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Chen YJ, Lu ML, Chiu YH, Chen C, Santos VHJ, Goh KK. Linking childhood trauma to the psychopathology of schizophrenia: the role of oxytocin. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 10:24. [PMID: 38388569 PMCID: PMC10883944 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-024-00433-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Childhood trauma has been linked to schizophrenia, but underlying biological mechanisms remain elusive. This study explored the potential role of plasma oxytocin as a mediator in the relationship between childhood trauma and the psychopathology of schizophrenia. 160 patients with schizophrenia and 80 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were assessed for childhood trauma experiences using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and structured interviews. Psychopathology was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and plasma oxytocin levels were measured. Results showed that patients with schizophrenia had lower oxytocin levels and higher childhood trauma scores than healthy controls. There was a significant correlation between childhood trauma scores and psychopathology, with plasma oxytocin levels being inversely associated with psychopathology, except for positive symptoms. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that both childhood trauma scores and plasma oxytocin levels significantly predicted psychopathology. Plasma oxytocin levels partially mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and schizophrenia psychopathology. This study underscores the potential role of oxytocin in bridging the gap between childhood trauma and schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Jung Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Mong-Liang Lu
- Department of Psychiatry, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Hang Chiu
- Department of Psychiatry, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chenyi Chen
- Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- The Innovative and Translational Research Center of Brain Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Vitor Hugo Jesus Santos
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences (FCS-UBI), Cova da Beira University Hospital Center, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - Kah Kheng Goh
- Department of Psychiatry, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- The Innovative and Translational Research Center of Brain Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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33
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Osakada T, Yan R, Jiang Y, Wei D, Tabuchi R, Dai B, Wang X, Zhao G, Wang CX, Liu JJ, Tsien RW, Mar AC, Lin D. A dedicated hypothalamic oxytocin circuit controls aversive social learning. Nature 2024; 626:347-356. [PMID: 38267576 PMCID: PMC11102773 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06958-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
To survive in a complex social group, one needs to know who to approach and, more importantly, who to avoid. In mice, a single defeat causes the losing mouse to stay away from the winner for weeks1. Here through a series of functional manipulation and recording experiments, we identify oxytocin neurons in the retrochiasmatic supraoptic nucleus (SOROXT) and oxytocin-receptor-expressing cells in the anterior subdivision of the ventromedial hypothalamus, ventrolateral part (aVMHvlOXTR) as a key circuit motif for defeat-induced social avoidance. Before defeat, aVMHvlOXTR cells minimally respond to aggressor cues. During defeat, aVMHvlOXTR cells are highly activated and, with the help of an exclusive oxytocin supply from the SOR, potentiate their responses to aggressor cues. After defeat, strong aggressor-induced aVMHvlOXTR cell activation drives the animal to avoid the aggressor and minimizes future defeat. Our study uncovers a neural process that supports rapid social learning caused by defeat and highlights the importance of the brain oxytocin system in social plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuya Osakada
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Rongzhen Yan
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yiwen Jiang
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dongyu Wei
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rina Tabuchi
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bing Dai
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Xiaohan Wang
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gavin Zhao
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Clara Xi Wang
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jing-Jing Liu
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Richard W Tsien
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Adam C Mar
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dayu Lin
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
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Gallazzi M, Pizzolante M, Biganzoli EM, Bollati V. Wonder symphony: epigenetics and the enchantment of the arts. ENVIRONMENTAL EPIGENETICS 2024; 10:dvae001. [PMID: 38496252 PMCID: PMC10944288 DOI: 10.1093/eep/dvae001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Epigenetics, the study of heritable changes in gene expression without altering the DNA sequence, has gained significant attention due to its implications for gene regulation and chromatin stability. Epigenetic mechanisms play a fundamental role in gene-environment interactions, shaping individual development and adaptation. DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs are key epigenetic regulators. Epigenetic changes can be triggered by environmental factors, including stress, toxins, and social interactions, influencing health and well-being. Positive experiences, such as engagement with the arts, have been linked to emotional responses and neurotransmitter release. While the impacts of detrimental factors on epigenetics have been widely studied, the effects of positive influences are less explored. Specifically, visual art and music have profound effects on emotions, cognition, and mood regulation. Exposure to arts enhances memory, reduces stress, and fosters social inclusion. Recent research has begun to explore the links between positive experiences and epigenetic modifications, suggesting that aesthetic experiences, including visual art and music fruition, might induce dynamic and/or stable changes in gene expression profiles. However, this field is in its infancy, and more research is needed to establish clear connections. Collaborative efforts among genetics, epigenetics, neuroscience, psychology, and the arts are essential for a comprehensive understanding. Longitudinal studies tracking sustained exposure to positive experiences and examining the influence of childhood artistic education on the biological bases of therapeutic effects of art and music are promising avenues for future research. Ultimately, understanding how positive experiences influence epigenetics could provide insights into the long-term enhancement of human well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Gallazzi
- Catholic University of Milan, Milan 20123, Italy
- EPIGET LAB, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, via San Barnaba 8, Milan 20122, Italy
| | - Marta Pizzolante
- Research Center in Communication Psychology (PSICOM), Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Milan 20123, Italy
| | - Elia Mario Biganzoli
- Unit of Medical Statistics, Bioinformatics and Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (DIBIC), University of Milan, Via Giovanni Battista Grassi, 74, Milan 20157, Italy
- Unit of Clinical Research and Medical Statistics, Ospedale “L. Sacco” LITA Campus, Via Giovanni Battista Grassi, 74 Milan 20157, Italy
| | - Valentina Bollati
- EPIGET LAB, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, via San Barnaba 8, Milan 20122, Italy
- Occupational Health Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via San Barnaba 8, Milan 20122, Italy
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Diaz Heijtz R. Gut microbiota: A key susceptibility factor in social anxiety disorder. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2320425121. [PMID: 38252816 PMCID: PMC10835049 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320425121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
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Ravenel JR, Perkins AE, Tomczik A, Defendini A, Strnad HK, Varlinskaya E, Deak T, Spencer RL. Age-related decline in social interaction is associated with decreased c-Fos induction in select brain regions independent of oxytocin receptor expression profiles. AGING BRAIN 2024; 5:100107. [PMID: 38313579 PMCID: PMC10837624 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2024.100107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Social behavior decreases with aging, and we have previously found a substantial decline in social investigative behavior of old female rats. In this study we examined the neural activation pattern (c-Fos mRNA) of young (3 month) and old (18 month) female rats after brief 10 min exposure to a novel female rat in order to identify forebrain regions that show selective age-related alterations in their neural response to social investigation. We also measured relative oxytocin receptor expression (Oxtr mRNA) as a possible factor in age-related declines in c-Fos induction after social interaction. Young rats exposed to a social partner had a greater c-Fos mRNA response than those exposed to novel context alone in the lateral septum and septohypothalamic area, with blunted increases evident in old rats. In addition, c-Fos mRNA levels in the lateral septum were positively correlated with social investigative behavior. Interestingly, age-related differences in c-Fos gene induction were unrelated to the local amount of Oxtr expression within specific brain regions, although we found an age-related decline in Oxtr expression in the ventromedial hypothalamus. This functional neuroanatomical characterization may point to certain brain regions that are especially sensitive to age-related declines associated with social interaction behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Russell Ravenel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Amy E. Perkins
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University—SUNY, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA
| | - Angela Tomczik
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Ana Defendini
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Helen K. Strnad
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Elena Varlinskaya
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University—SUNY, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA
| | - Terrence Deak
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University—SUNY, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA
| | - Robert L. Spencer
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
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Miyamichi K. Neural basis for behavioral plasticity during the parental life-stage transition in mice. Front Neural Circuits 2024; 17:1340497. [PMID: 38298741 PMCID: PMC10829089 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2023.1340497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Parental care plays a crucial role in the physical and mental well-being of mammalian offspring. Although sexually naïve male mice, as well as certain strains of female mice, display aggression toward pups, they exhibit heightened parental caregiving behaviors as they approach the time of anticipating their offspring. In this Mini Review, I provide a concise overview of the current understanding of distinct limbic neural types and their circuits governing both aggressive and caregiving behaviors toward infant mice. Subsequently, I delve into recent advancements in the understanding of the molecular, cellular, and neural circuit mechanisms that regulate behavioral plasticity during the transition to parenthood, with a specific focus on the sex steroid hormone estrogen and neural hormone oxytocin. Additionally, I explore potential sex-related differences and highlight some critical unanswered questions that warrant further investigation.
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Leithead AB, Godino A, Barbier M, Harony-Nicolas H. Social Interaction Elicits Activity in Glutamatergic Neurons in the Posterior Intralaminar Complex of the Thalamus. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 95:112-122. [PMID: 37245781 PMCID: PMC10676449 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The posterior intralaminar complex of the thalamus (PIL) is a multimodal nucleus that has been implicated in maternal behaviors and conspecific social behaviors in male and female rodents. Glutamatergic neurons are a major component of the PIL; however, their specific activity and role during social interactions has not yet been assessed. METHODS We used immunohistochemistry for the immediate early gene c-fos as a proxy for neuronal activity in the PIL of mice exposed to a novel social stimulus, a novel object stimulus, or no stimulus. We then used fiber photometry to record neural activity of glutamatergic neurons in the PIL in real time during social and nonsocial interactions. Finally, we used inhibitory DREADDs (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs) in glutamatergic PIL neurons and tested social preference and social habituation-dishabituation. RESULTS We observed significantly more c-fos-positive cells in the PIL of mice exposed to a social stimulus versus an object stimulus or no stimulus. Neural activity of PIL glutamatergic neurons was increased when male and female mice were engaged in social interaction with a same-sex juvenile or opposite-sex adult, but not a toy mouse. Neural activity was positively correlated with social investigation bout length and negatively correlated with chronological order of bouts. Social preference was unaffected by inhibition; however, inhibiting activity of glutamatergic neurons in the PIL delayed the time that it took for female mice to form social habituation. CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings suggest that glutamatergic PIL neurons respond to social stimuli in both male and female mice and may regulate perceptual encoding of social information to facilitate recognition of social stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Beth Leithead
- Department of Psychiatry, the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Arthur Godino
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Marie Barbier
- Department of Psychiatry, the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Hala Harony-Nicolas
- Department of Psychiatry, the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
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Lv X, Hou YS, Zhang ZH, Yue WH. OXTR polymorphisms associated with severity and treatment responses of schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 10:7. [PMID: 38184684 PMCID: PMC10851696 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-023-00413-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
The mechanisms generating specific symptoms of schizophrenia remain unclear and genetic research makes it possible to explore these issues at a fundamental level. Taking into account the associations between the oxytocin system and social functions, which are apparently impaired in schizophrenia patients, we hypothesized that the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) might be associated with schizophrenia symptoms in both severity and responses to antipsychotics and did this exploratory positional study. A total of 2363 patients with schizophrenia (1181 males and 1182 females) included in our study were randomly allocated to seven antipsychotic treatment groups and received antipsychotic monotherapy for 6 weeks. Their blood DNA was genotyped for OXTR polymorphisms. Their symptom severity was assessed by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and the scores were transformed into seven factors (positive, disorganized, negative symptoms apathy/avolition, negative symptoms deficit of expression, hostility, anxiety and depression). Percentage changes in PANSS scores from baseline to week 6 were calculated to quantify antipsychotic responses. We found that OXTR polymorphisms were nominally associated with the severity of overall symptoms (rs237899, β = 1.669, p = 0.019), hostility symptoms (rs237899, β = 0.427, p = 0.044) and anxiety symptoms (rs13316193, β = -0.197, p = 0.038). As for treatment responses, OXTR polymorphisms were nominally associated with the improvement in negative symptoms apathy/avolition (rs2268490, β = 2.235, p = 0.0499). No association between severity or response to treatment and OXTR polymorphisms was found with statistical correction for multiplicity. Overall, our results highlighted the possibility of nominally significant associations of the OXTR gene with the severity and improvement in schizophrenia symptoms. Given the exploratory nature of this study, these associations are indicative of the role of the OXTR gene in the pathology of schizophrenia and may contribute to further elucidate the mechanism of specific symptoms of schizophrenia and to exploit antipsychotics more effective to specific symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Lv
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College, 453100, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Yue-Sen Hou
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College, 453100, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Key Laboratory of Neurorestoratology, 453199, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Engineering Research Center of Physical Diagnostics and Treatment Technology for the Mental and Neurological Diseases, 453005, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Zhao-Hui Zhang
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College, 453100, Xinxiang, Henan, China.
| | - Wei-Hua Yue
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, 100191, Beijing, China.
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Yashima J, Sakamoto T. Oxytocin receptors in the prefrontal cortex play important roles in short-term social recognition in mice. Behav Brain Res 2024; 456:114706. [PMID: 37806564 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
We examined the roles of oxytocin (OT) receptors in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in short- and long-term social recognition and anxiety-related behaviors in mice. Mice injected with high or low doses of an OT receptor antagonist (OTA) or vehicle performed the social recognition test, the open-field test, and the light-dark transition test. In the social recognition test, with three daily trials over three consecutive days, control mice showed short-term recognition of a conspecific on all three days. In contrast, a high-dose injection of OTA impaired short-term social recognition on the second and third days, and it was impaired by a low-dose injection of OTA on the third day. These results suggested that OTA injection into the PFC dose-dependently inhibited short-term social recognition within each day. All three groups did not show any long-term social recognition across three days. OTA injection did not affect anxiety related behavior in the open-field and light-dark transition tests. Our findings demonstrated that OT receptors in the PFC played important roles in short-term social recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joi Yashima
- Department of Psychology, Graduate school of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyoto Tachibana University, Yamashina, Kyoto 607-8175, Japan
| | - Toshiro Sakamoto
- Department of Psychology, Graduate school of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyoto Tachibana University, Yamashina, Kyoto 607-8175, Japan.
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41
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Lu X, Hu RK. Mapping brain circuits for murine maternal behavior triggered by pup calls. Trends Neurosci 2024; 47:4-5. [PMID: 37919204 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
How sensory cues are integrated at the level of neural circuits to drive maternal behaviors remains incompletely understood. In a recent study, Valtcheva, Issa, and colleagues identified a previously unknown role for the posterior intralaminar (PIL) nucleus of the thalamus within the neural networks that mediate maternal behavior in mice induced by pup calls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinqi Lu
- Department of Psychology, Zhongshan Hospital, Institute for Translational Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Rongfeng K Hu
- Department of Psychology, Zhongshan Hospital, Institute for Translational Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
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42
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Selles MC, Oliveira MM. The Oxytocin Puzzle: Unlocking Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 97:1101-1104. [PMID: 38189754 DOI: 10.3233/jad-231127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is a multi-factorial disease that disrupts many aspects of human behavior. In this comment, we highlight the work by Koulousakis et al. published in a recent issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. In this study, the authors tested the therapeutic potential of the neuropeptide oxytocin in a pre-clinical model of Alzheimer's disease and found positive behavioral outcomes on memory assessments. We discuss these findings in the context of oxytocin research in the field of Alzheimer's disease and the literature regarding oxytocin-based therapeutics, including administration protocols and potential underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Clara Selles
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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Corral-Lopez A, Bloch NI, van der Bijl W, Cortazar-Chinarro M, Szorkovszky A, Kotrschal A, Darolti I, Buechel SD, Romenskyy M, Kolm N, Mank JE. Functional convergence of genomic and transcriptomic architecture underlies schooling behaviour in a live-bearing fish. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:98-110. [PMID: 37985898 PMCID: PMC10781616 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02249-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The organization and coordination of fish schools provide a valuable model to investigate the genetic architecture of affiliative behaviours and dissect the mechanisms underlying social behaviours and personalities. Here we used replicate guppy selection lines that vary in schooling propensity and combine quantitative genetics with genomic and transcriptomic analyses to investigate the genetic basis of sociability phenotypes. We show that consistent with findings in collective motion patterns, experimental evolution of schooling propensity increased the sociability of female, but not male, guppies when swimming with unfamiliar conspecifics. This finding highlights a relevant link between coordinated motion and sociability for species forming fission-fusion societies in which both group size and the type of social interactions are dynamic across space and time. We further show that alignment and attraction, the two major traits forming the sociability personality axis in this species, showed heritability estimates at the upper end of the range previously described for social behaviours, with important variation across sexes. The results from both Pool-seq and RNA-seq data indicated that genes involved in neuron migration and synaptic function were instrumental in the evolution of sociability, highlighting a crucial role of glutamatergic synaptic function and calcium-dependent signalling processes in the evolution of schooling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Corral-Lopez
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Division of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Natasha I Bloch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Maria Cortazar-Chinarro
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- MEMEG Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Alexander Szorkovszky
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Iulia Darolti
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Severine D Buechel
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Maksym Romenskyy
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Tsai SF, Kuo YM. The Role of Central Oxytocin in Autonomic Regulation. CHINESE J PHYSIOL 2024; 67:3-14. [PMID: 38780268 DOI: 10.4103/ejpi.ejpi-d-23-00037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT), a neuropeptide originating from the hypothalamus and traditionally associated with peripheral functions in parturition and lactation, has emerged as a pivotal player in the central regulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This comprehensive ANS, comprising sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric components, intricately combines sympathetic and parasympathetic influences to provide unified control. The central oversight of sympathetic and parasympathetic outputs involves a network of interconnected regions spanning the neuroaxis, playing a pivotal role in the real-time regulation of visceral function, homeostasis, and adaptation to challenges. This review unveils the significant involvement of the central OXT system in modulating autonomic functions, shedding light on diverse subpopulations of OXT neurons within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and their intricate projections. The narrative progresses from the basics of central ANS regulation to a detailed discussion of the central controls of sympathetic and parasympathetic outflows. The subsequent segment focuses specifically on the central OXT system, providing a foundation for exploring the central role of OXT in ANS regulation. This review synthesizes current knowledge, paving the way for future research endeavors to unravel the full scope of autonomic control and understand multifaceted impact of OXT on physiological outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Feng Tsai
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Min Kuo
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
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45
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Heifets BD, Olson DE. Therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelics and entactogens. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:104-118. [PMID: 37488282 PMCID: PMC10700553 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01666-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Recent clinical and preclinical evidence suggests that psychedelics and entactogens may produce both rapid and sustained therapeutic effects across several indications. Currently, there is a disconnect between how these compounds are used in the clinic and how they are studied in preclinical species, which has led to a gap in our mechanistic understanding of how these compounds might positively impact mental health. Human studies have emphasized extra-pharmacological factors that could modulate psychedelic-induced therapeutic responses including set, setting, and integration-factors that are poorly modelled in current animal experiments. In contrast, animal studies have focused on changes in neuronal activation and structural plasticity-outcomes that are challenging to measure in humans. Here, we describe several hypotheses that might explain how psychedelics rescue neuropsychiatric disease symptoms, and we propose ways to bridge the gap between human and rodent studies. Given the diverse pharmacological profiles of psychedelics and entactogens, we suggest that their rapid and sustained therapeutic mechanisms of action might best be described by the collection of circuits that they modulate rather than their actions at any single molecular target. Thus, approaches focusing on selective circuit modulation of behavioral phenotypes might prove more fruitful than target-based methods for identifying novel compounds with rapid and sustained therapeutic effects similar to psychedelics and entactogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris D Heifets
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - David E Olson
- Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95618, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
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Gorman-Sandler E, Wood G, Cloude N, Frambes N, Brennen H, Robertson B, Hollis F. Mitochondrial might: powering the peripartum for risk and resilience. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1286811. [PMID: 38187925 PMCID: PMC10767224 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1286811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The peripartum period, characterized by dynamic hormonal shifts and physiological adaptations, has been recognized as a potentially vulnerable period for the development of mood disorders such as postpartum depression (PPD). Stress is a well-established risk factor for developing PPD and is known to modulate mitochondrial function. While primarily known for their role in energy production, mitochondria also influence processes such as stress regulation, steroid hormone synthesis, glucocorticoid response, GABA metabolism, and immune modulation - all of which are crucial for healthy pregnancy and relevant to PPD pathology. While mitochondrial function has been implicated in other psychiatric illnesses, its role in peripartum stress and mental health remains largely unexplored, especially in relation to the brain. In this review, we first provide an overview of mitochondrial involvement in processes implicated in peripartum mood disorders, underscoring their potential role in mediating pathology. We then discuss clinical and preclinical studies of mitochondria in the context of peripartum stress and mental health, emphasizing the need for better understanding of this relationship. Finally, we propose mitochondria as biological mediators of resilience to peripartum mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Gorman-Sandler
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
- Columbia VA Healthcare System, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Gabrielle Wood
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Nazharee Cloude
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Noelle Frambes
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Hannah Brennen
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Breanna Robertson
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Fiona Hollis
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
- Columbia VA Healthcare System, Columbia, SC, United States
- USC Institute for Cardiovascular Disease Research, Columbia, SC, United States
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Penrod RD, Taniguchi M, Kearns AM, Hopkins JL, Reichel CM. Differential Roles of Oxytocin Receptors in the Prefrontal Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens on Cocaine Self-Administration and Reinstatement of Cued Cocaine Seeking in Male Rats. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2023; 26:817-827. [PMID: 37875346 PMCID: PMC10726405 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyad059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little is known about the specific roles of cortical and accumbal oxytocin receptors in drug use disorders. To better understand the importance of the endogenous oxytocin system in cocaine relapse behavior, we developed an adeno-associated viral vector-expressing short hairpin (sh) RNAs to selectively degrade the rat oxytocin receptor (OxyR) mRNA in vivo. METHODS Male (Sprague-Dawley) rats received bilateral infusions of the shRNA for the oxytocin receptor (shOxyR) or an shRNA control virus into the prefrontal cortex (PFC) or the nucleus accumbens core (NAc). Rats self-administered cocaine on an escalating FR ratio for 14 days, lever responding was extinguished, and rats were tested for cued and cocaine-primed reinstatement of drug seeking. RESULTS OxyR knockdown in the PFC delayed the acquisition of lever pressing on an fixed ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement. All rats eventually acquired the same level of lever pressing and discrimination, and there were no differences in extinction. OxyR knockdown in the NAc had no effect during acquisition. In both the PFC and NAc, the shOxyR decreased cued reinstatement relative to shRNA control virus but was without effect during drug-primed reinstatement. OxyR knockdown in the PFC increased chamber activity during a social interaction task. CONCLUSIONS This study provides critical new information about how endogenous OxyRs function to affect drug seeking in response to different precipitators of relapse. The tool developed to knockdown OxyRs in rat could provide important new insights that aid development of oxytocin-based therapeutics to reduce return-to-use episodes in people with substance use disorder and other neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel D Penrod
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Makoto Taniguchi
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Angela M Kearns
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Jordan L Hopkins
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Carmela M Reichel
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
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Abstract
Traditional textbook physiology has ascribed unitary functions to hormones from the anterior and posterior pituitary gland, mainly in the regulation of effector hormone secretion from endocrine organs. However, the evolutionary biology of pituitary hormones and their receptors provides evidence for a broad range of functions in vertebrate physiology. Over the past decade, we and others have discovered that thyroid-stimulating hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, prolactin, oxytocin and arginine vasopressin act directly on somatic organs, including bone, adipose tissue and liver. New evidence also indicates that pituitary hormone receptors are expressed in brain regions, nuclei and subnuclei. These studies have prompted us to attribute the pathophysiology of certain human diseases, including osteoporosis, obesity and neurodegeneration, at least in part, to changes in pituitary hormone levels. This new information has identified actionable therapeutic targets for drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mone Zaidi
- Center for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Departments of Medicine and Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Tony Yuen
- Center for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Departments of Medicine and Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Se-Min Kim
- Center for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Departments of Medicine and Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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Menon R, Neumann ID. Detection, processing and reinforcement of social cues: regulation by the oxytocin system. Nat Rev Neurosci 2023; 24:761-777. [PMID: 37891399 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00759-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Many social behaviours are evolutionarily conserved and are essential for the healthy development of an individual. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is crucial for the fine-tuned regulation of social interactions in mammals. The advent and application of state-of-the-art methodological approaches that allow the activity of neuronal circuits involving OXT to be monitored and functionally manipulated in laboratory mammals have deepened our understanding of the roles of OXT in these behaviours. In this Review, we discuss how OXT promotes the sensory detection and evaluation of social cues, the subsequent approach and display of social behaviour, and the rewarding consequences of social interactions in selected reproductive and non-reproductive social behaviours. Social stressors - such as social isolation, exposure to social defeat or social trauma, and partner loss - are often paralleled by maladaptations of the OXT system, and restoring OXT system functioning can reinstate socio-emotional allostasis. Thus, the OXT system acts as a dynamic mediator of appropriate behavioural adaptations to environmental challenges by enhancing and reinforcing social salience and buffering social stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohit Menon
- Department of Behavioural and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Inga D Neumann
- Department of Behavioural and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
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Garduño-Gutiérrez R, Rodríguez-Manzo G, Velázquez-Alvarado A, Miller-Pérez C, León-Olea M. The endocrine disruptor DE-79 alters oxytocinergic transmission and sexual behavior expression in male rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2023; 479:116723. [PMID: 37844777 DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2023.116723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as flame retardants are persistent organic pollutants exerting important health effects. PBDEs with >5 bromide substitutions were considered less harmful and therefore extensively used commercially. DE-79 was a widely used PBDE mixture of hexa-, hepta-, octa- and nona-brominated compounds that increases vasopressin (AVP) production. AVP and oxytocin (OT) are both produced in neurons of the supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) hypothalamic nuclei projecting to the neurohypophysis and to brain regions involved in copulatory behavior. OT plays an important role in male copulation. Since DE-79 alters AVP expression in the SON and PVN, it might also modify OT content and alter male sexual behavior. We analyzed if repeated DE-79 exposure of adult male rats affected OT content and OT receptor (OTR) density in the SON, PVN, medial preoptic area (mPOA), ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala, and if male copulatory behavior was affected. We show that DE-79 exposure produces a generalized decrease in brain OT immunoreactivity, increases OTR density in all brain regions analyzed but the mPOA, and reduces the ejaculatory threshold after a first ejaculation. The documented ejaculation-induced OT release might participate in this last effect. Thus, one-week DE-79 exposure alters the OT-OTR system and modifies male rat sexual performance. Based on the literature it could be speculated that these effects are related to the putative endocrine disrupting actions of DE-79, ultimately altering brain OT levels and OTR expression that might affect copulation and other important OT-mediated brain functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- René Garduño-Gutiérrez
- Departamento de Farmacobiología, Cinvestav Sede Sur, Calzada de los Tenorios 235, Col. Granjas Coapa, Delegación Tlalpan, Ciudad de México C.P.14330, Mexico
| | - Gabriela Rodríguez-Manzo
- Departamento de Farmacobiología, Cinvestav Sede Sur, Calzada de los Tenorios 235, Col. Granjas Coapa, Delegación Tlalpan, Ciudad de México C.P.14330, Mexico.
| | - Alejandro Velázquez-Alvarado
- Departamento de Neuromorfología Funcional, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz", Av. México-Xochimilco101, Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco, Ciudad de México C.P. 14370, Mexico
| | - Carolina Miller-Pérez
- Departamento de Neuromorfología Funcional, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz", Av. México-Xochimilco101, Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco, Ciudad de México C.P. 14370, Mexico
| | - Martha León-Olea
- Departamento de Neuromorfología Funcional, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz", Av. México-Xochimilco101, Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco, Ciudad de México C.P. 14370, Mexico.
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