1
|
Frasier RM, Sergio TDO, Starski PA, Hopf FW. Heart rate variability: A primer for alcohol researchers. Alcohol 2024; 120:41-50. [PMID: 38906390 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2024.06.003] [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: 03/18/2024] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Problem alcohol drinking remains a major cost and burden for society. Also, rates of problem drinking in women have dramatically increased in recent decades, and women are at risk for more alcohol problems and comorbidities. The purpose of this commentary is to discuss the potential utility of cardiac measures, including heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV), as markers of individual and sex differences in the drive to drink alcohol. We recently used cardiac telemetry in female and male adult rats to determine whether different cardiac markers, including HR and HRV, would differently predict alcohol and anxiety-like behavior across the sexes. Indeed, female behaviors related to HRV measures that indicate more parasympathetic (PNS) influence (the "rest and digest" system). In contrast, male behaviors are associated more with sympathetic (SNS) indicators (the activation system). Remarkably, similar sex differences in PNS versus SNS engagement under challenge are seen in several human studies, suggesting strong cross-species convergence in differential autonomic regulation in females and males. Here, we describe the larger challenges that alcohol addiction presents, and how HRV measures may provide new biomarkers to help enhance development of more individualized and sex-specific treatments. We briefly explain the physiological systems underlying cardiac PNS and SNS states, and how specific HRV metrics are defined and validated, especially why particular HRV measures are considered to reflect more PNS versus SNS influence. Finally, we describe hormonal influences and sex differences in brain circuits related to cardiac autonomic regulation. Together, these findings show that HR and HRV have potential for uncovering key underlying mechanisms of sex and individual differences in autonomic drivers, which could guide more personalized treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raizel M Frasier
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana University School of Medicine, Medical Scientist Training Program, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Thatiane de Oliveira Sergio
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Phillip A Starski
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - F Woodward Hopf
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Frasier RM, Starski PA, de Oliveira Sergio T, Grippo AJ, Hopf FW. Sex differences in heart rate variability measures that predict alcohol drinking in rats. Addict Biol 2024; 29:e13387. [PMID: 38502109 PMCID: PMC11061848 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13387] [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: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Problem alcohol drinking continues to be a substantial cost and burden. In addition, alcohol consumption in women has increased in recent decades, and women can have greater alcohol problems and comorbidities. Thus, there is a significant need for novel therapeutics to enhance sex-specific, individualized treatment. Heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) are of broad interest because they may be both biomarkers for and drivers of pathological states. HRV reflects the dynamic balance between sympathetic (SNS, 'fight or flight') and parasympathetic (PNS, 'rest and digest') systems. Evidence from human studies suggest PNS predominance in women and SNS in men during autonomic regulation, indicating the possibility of sex differences in risk factors and physiological drivers of problem drinking. To better understand the association between HRV sex differences and alcohol drinking, we examined whether alcohol consumption levels correlated with time domain HRV measures (SDNN and rMSSD) at baseline, at alcohol drinking onset, and across 10 min of drinking, in adult female and male Wistar rats. In particular, we compared both HRV and HR measures under alcohol-only and compulsion-like conditions (alcohol + 10 mg/L quinine), because compulsion can often be a significant barrier to treatment of alcohol misuse. Importantly, previous work supports the possibility that different HRV measures could be interpreted to reflect PNS versus SNS influences. Here, we show that females with higher putative PNS indicators at baseline and at drinking onset had greater alcohol consumption. In contrast, male intake levels related to increased potential SNS measures at drinking onset. Once alcohol was consumed, HR predicted intake level in females, perhaps a pharmacological effect of alcohol. However, HRV changes were greater during compulsion-like intake versus alcohol-only, suggesting HRV changes (reduced SNS in females, reduced PNS and increased HR in males) specifically related to aversion-resistant intake. We find novel and likely clinically relevant autonomic differences associated with biological sex and alcohol drinking, suggesting that different autonomic mechanisms may promote differing aspects of female and male alcohol consumption.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raizel M. Frasier
- Department of PsychiatryIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
- Medical Scientist Training ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | - Phillip A. Starski
- Department of PsychiatryIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | | | - Angela J. Grippo
- Department of PsychologyNorthern Illinois UniversityDeKalbIllinoisUSA
| | - F. Woodward Hopf
- Department of PsychiatryIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
- Stark Neurosciences Research InstituteIndiana UniversityIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Frasier RM, De Oliveira Sergio T, Starski PA, Grippo AJ, Hopf FW. Heart rate variability measures indicating sex differences in autonomic regulation during anxiety-like behavior in rats. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1244389. [PMID: 38025424 PMCID: PMC10644002 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1244389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Mental health conditions remain a substantial and costly challenge to society, especially in women since they have nearly twice the prevalence of anxiety disorders. However, critical mechanisms underlying sex differences remain incompletely understood. Measures of cardiac function, including heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV), reflect balance between sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) systems and are potential biomarkers for pathological states. Methods To better understand sex differences in anxiety-related autonomic mechanisms, we examined HR/HRV telemetry in food-restricted adult rats during novelty suppression of feeding (NSF), with conflict between food under bright light in the arena center. To assess HRV, we calculated the SDNN (reflective of both SNS and PNS contribution) and rMSSD (reflective of PNS contribution) and compared these metrics to behaviors within the anxiety task. Results Females had greater HR and lower SNS indicators at baseline, as in humans. Further, females (but not males) with higher basal HR carried this state into NSF, delaying first approach to center. In contrast, males with lower SNS measures approached and spent more time in the brightly-lit center. Further, females with lower SNS indicators consumed significantly more food. In males, a high-SNS subpopulation consumed no food. Among consumers, males with greater SNS ate more food. Discussion Together, these are congruent with human findings suggesting women engage PNS more, and men SNS more. Our previous behavior-only work also observed female differences from males during initial movement and food intake. Thus, high basal SNS in females reduced behavior early in NSF, while subsequent reduced SNS allowed greater food intake. In males, lower SNS increased engagement with arena center, but greater SNS predicted higher consumption. Our findings show novel and likely clinically relevant sex differences in HRV-behavior relationships.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raizel M. Frasier
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | | | - Phillip A. Starski
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | - Angela J. Grippo
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, United States
| | - F. Woodward Hopf
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Stevenson JR, McMahon EK, McNeely TL, Haussmann MF. Oxytocin prevents dysregulation of the acute stress response and glucocorticoid-induced oxidative stress in chronically isolated prairie voles. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 153:106121. [PMID: 37120947 PMCID: PMC10225351 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Chronic social isolation can lead to dysregulation of many physiological and psychological processes, including the ability to respond to acute stressors. Previous work in our lab reported that six weeks of social isolation in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) caused increased glucocorticoid levels, oxidative damage, telomere degradation and anhedonia, and that oxytocin treatment prevented all of these changes. Following these results, we investigated how chronic social isolation with and without oxytocin treatment affected glucocorticoid (CORT) and oxidative stress responses to an acute stressor, a 5-min resident-intruder (R-I) test at the end of the social isolation period. To investigate the effect of a brief acute stressor on CORT and oxidative stress, baseline blood samples were collected following six weeks of social isolation, 24-hrs before the R-I test. Two more blood samples were collected 15-min after the end of the R-I test, and again 25-min later to measure peak and recovery responses, respectively. Isolated animals had higher baseline, peak, recovery, and integrated levels of CORT and reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs, a measure of oxidative stress), compared to animals that did not experience isolation. Importantly, oxytocin treatment throughout the isolation period prevented these elevations in CORT and ROMs. No significant changes were observed in total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Levels of CORT and ROMs at the peak and recovery time points were positively correlated. These data show that acute stress in chronically isolated prairie voles, then, is associated with increased glucocorticoid-induced oxidative stress (GiOS), and that oxytocin mitigates isolation-induced dysregulation of glucocorticoid and oxidative stress acute stress responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennie R Stevenson
- Dept. of Psychology, Neuroscience Program, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Carter CS. Sex, love and oxytocin: Two metaphors and a molecule. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 143:104948. [PMID: 36347382 PMCID: PMC9759207 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Dozens of studies, most conducted in the last four decades, have implicated oxytocin, as well as vasopressin and their receptors, in processes that mediate selective sociality and the consequences of early experience. Oxytocin is critical for the capacity to experience emotional safety and healthy sexuality. Oxytocin also plays a central role in almost every aspect of physical and mental health, including the coordination of sociality and loving relationships with physiological reactions to challenges across the lifespan. Species, including prairie voles, that share with humans the capacity for selective social bonds have been a particularly rich source of insights into the behavioral importance of peptides. The purpose of this historical review is to describe the discovery of a central role for oxytocin in behavioral interactions associated with love, and in the capacity to use sociality to anticipate and cope with challenges across the lifespan - a process that here is called "sociostasis."
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C Sue Carter
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA; Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Watanasriyakul WT, Scotti MAL, Carter CS, McNeal N, Colburn W, Wardwell J, Grippo AJ. Social isolation and oxytocin antagonism increase emotion-related behaviors and heart rate in female prairie voles. Auton Neurosci 2022; 239:102967. [PMID: 35240436 PMCID: PMC8974671 DOI: 10.1016/j.autneu.2022.102967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Social isolation influences depression- and anxiety-related disorders and cardiac function. Oxytocin may mediate these conditions through interactions with social behavior, emotion, and cardiovascular function, via central and/or peripheral mechanisms. The present study investigated the influence of oxytocin antagonism using L-368,899, a selective oxytocin receptor antagonist that crosses the blood-brain barrier, on depression- and anxiety-related behaviors and heart rate in prairie voles. This rodent species has translational value for investigating interactions of social stress, behavior, cardiac responses, and oxytocin function. Adult female prairie voles were socially isolated or co-housed with a sibling for 4 weeks. A subset of animals in each housing condition was subjected to 4 sessions of acute L-368,899 (20 mg/kg, ip) or saline administration followed by a depression- or anxiety-related behavioral assessment. A subset of co-housed animals was evaluated for cardiac function following acute administration of L-368,899 (20 mg/kg, ip) and during behavioral assessments. Social isolation (vs. co-housing) increased depression- and anxiety-related behaviors. In isolated animals, L-368,899 (vs. vehicle) did not influence anxiety-related behaviors but exacerbated depression-related behaviors. In co-housed animals, L-368,899 exacerbated depression-related behaviors and increased heart rate at baseline and during behavioral tests. Social isolation produces emotion-related behaviors in prairie voles; central and/or peripheral oxytocin antagonism exacerbates these behavioral signs. Oxytocin antagonism induces depression-relevant behaviors and increases basal and stressor-reactive heart rate in co-housed prairie voles, similar to the consequences of social isolation demonstrated in this model. These results provide translational value for humans who experience behavioral and cardiac consequences of loneliness or social stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- W Tang Watanasriyakul
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, United States of America
| | - Melissa-Ann L Scotti
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, United States of America
| | - C Sue Carter
- The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States of America
| | - Neal McNeal
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, United States of America
| | - William Colburn
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, United States of America
| | - Joshua Wardwell
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, United States of America
| | - Angela J Grippo
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, United States of America.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Oxytocin receptors influence the development and maintenance of social behavior in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Sci Rep 2022; 12:4322. [PMID: 35279678 PMCID: PMC8918347 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07990-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Zebrafish are highly social teleost fish and an excellent model to study social behavior. The neuropeptide Oxytocin is associated different social behaviors as well as disorders resulting in social impairment like autism spectrum disorder. However, how Oxytocin receptor signaling affects the development and expression kinetics of social behavior is not known. In this study we investigated the role of the two oxytocin receptors, Oxtr and Oxtrl, in the development and maintenance of social preference and shoaling behavior in 2- to 8-week-old zebrafish. Using CRISPR/Cas9 mediated oxtr and oxtrl knock-out fish, we found that the development of social preference is accelerated if one of the Oxytocin receptors is knocked-out and that the knock-out fish reach significantly higher levels of social preference. Moreover, oxtr−/− fish showed impairments in the maintenance of social preference. Social isolation prior to testing led to impaired maintenance of social preference in both wild-type and oxtr and oxtrl knock-out fish. Knocking-out either of the Oxytocin receptors also led to increased group spacing and reduced polarization in a 20-fish shoal at 8 weeks post fertilization, but not at 4. These results show that the development and maintenance of social behavior is influenced by the Oxytocin receptors and that the effects are not just pro- or antisocial, but dependent on both the age and social context of the fish.
Collapse
|
8
|
Carter CS. Oxytocin and love: Myths, metaphors and mysteries. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2022; 9:100107. [PMID: 35755926 PMCID: PMC9216351 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin is a peptide molecule with a multitude of physiological and behavioral functions. Based on its association with reproduction - including social bonding, sexual behavior, birth and maternal behavior - oxytocin also has been called "the love hormone." This essay specifically examines association and parallels between oxytocin and love. However, many myths and gaps in knowledge remain concerning both. A few of these are described here and we hypothesize that the potential benefits of both love and oxytocin may be better understood in light of interactions with more ancient systems, including specifically vasopressin and the immune system. Oxytocin is anti-inflammatory and is associated with recently evolved, social solutions to a variety of challenges necessary for mammalian survival and reproduction. The shared functions of oxytocin and love have profound implications for health and longevity, including the prevention and treatment of excess inflammation and related disorders, especially those occurring in early life and during periods of chronic threat or disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C. Sue Carter
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Abstract
Despite acknowledging that musicality evolved to serve multiple adaptive functions in human evolution, Savage et al. promote social bonding to an overarching super-function. Yet, no unifying neurobiological framework is offered. We propose that oxytocin constitutes a socio-allostatic agent whose modulation of sensing, learning, prediction, and behavioral responses with reference to the physical and social environment facilitates music's social bonding effects.
Collapse
|
10
|
Zilkha N, Sofer Y, Kashash Y, Kimchi T. The social network: Neural control of sex differences in reproductive behaviors, motivation, and response to social isolation. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 68:137-151. [PMID: 33910083 PMCID: PMC8528716 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Social animal species present a vast repertoire of social interactions when encountering conspecifics. Reproduction-related behaviors, such as mating, parental care, and aggression, are some of the most rewarding types of social interactions and are also the most sexually dimorphic ones. This review focuses on rodent species and summarizes recent advances in neuroscience research that link sexually dimorphic reproductive behaviors to sexual dimorphism in their underlying neuronal circuits. Specifically, we present a few possible mechanisms governing sexually-dimorphic behaviors, by hypothalamic and reward-related brain regions. Sex differences in the neural response to social isolation in adulthood are also discussed, as well as future directions for comparative studies with naturally solitary species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noga Zilkha
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Yizhak Sofer
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Yael Kashash
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Tali Kimchi
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Carter CS, Kenkel WM, MacLean EL, Wilson SR, Perkeybile AM, Yee JR, Ferris CF, Nazarloo HP, Porges SW, Davis JM, Connelly JJ, Kingsbury MA. Is Oxytocin "Nature's Medicine"? Pharmacol Rev 2021; 72:829-861. [PMID: 32912963 PMCID: PMC7495339 DOI: 10.1124/pr.120.019398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 202] [Impact Index Per Article: 67.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin is a pleiotropic, peptide hormone with broad implications for general health, adaptation, development, reproduction, and social behavior. Endogenous oxytocin and stimulation of the oxytocin receptor support patterns of growth, resilience, and healing. Oxytocin can function as a stress-coping molecule, an anti-inflammatory, and an antioxidant, with protective effects especially in the face of adversity or trauma. Oxytocin influences the autonomic nervous system and the immune system. These properties of oxytocin may help explain the benefits of positive social experiences and have drawn attention to this molecule as a possible therapeutic in a host of disorders. However, as detailed here, the unique chemical properties of oxytocin, including active disulfide bonds, and its capacity to shift chemical forms and bind to other molecules make this molecule difficult to work with and to measure. The effects of oxytocin also are context-dependent, sexually dimorphic, and altered by experience. In part, this is because many of the actions of oxytocin rely on its capacity to interact with the more ancient peptide molecule, vasopressin, and the vasopressin receptors. In addition, oxytocin receptor(s) are epigenetically tuned by experience, especially in early life. Stimulation of G-protein–coupled receptors triggers subcellular cascades allowing these neuropeptides to have multiple functions. The adaptive properties of oxytocin make this ancient molecule of special importance to human evolution as well as modern medicine and health; these same characteristics also present challenges to the use of oxytocin-like molecules as drugs that are only now being recognized.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C Sue Carter
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - William M Kenkel
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Evan L MacLean
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Steven R Wilson
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Allison M Perkeybile
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Jason R Yee
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Craig F Ferris
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Hossein P Nazarloo
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Stephen W Porges
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - John M Davis
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Jessica J Connelly
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| | - Marcy A Kingsbury
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (C.S.C., W.M.K., A.M.P., H.P.N., S.W.P.); School of Anthropology, Department of Psychology, and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (E.L.M.); Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (S.R.W.); Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (J.R.Y.); Departments of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (C.F.F.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (J.M.D.); Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (J.J.C.); and Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts (M.A.K.)
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Hopf D, Eckstein M, Aguilar-Raab C, Warth M, Ditzen B. Neuroendocrine mechanisms of grief and bereavement: A systematic review and implications for future interventions. J Neuroendocrinol 2020; 32:e12887. [PMID: 32754965 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Bereavement is associated with many negative behavioural, psychological and physiological consequences and leads to an increased risk of mortality and morbidity. However, studies specifically examining neuroendocrine mechanisms of grief and bereavement have yet to be reviewed. This systematic review is a synthesis of the latest evidence in this field and aims to draw conclusions about the implications of neurobiological findings on the development of new interventions. PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews were used to search for articles assessing neuroendocrine correlates of grief. Findings were qualitatively summarised. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Study Assessment Tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Out of 460 papers, 20 met the inclusion criteria. However, most were of fair quality only. As a neuroendocrine marker, the majority of the studies reported cortisol as the outcome measure and found elevated mean cortisol levels, flattened diurnal cortisol slopes and higher morning cortisol in bereaved subjects. Cortisol alterations were moderated by individual differences such as emotional reaction to grief, depressive symptoms, grief severity, closeness to the deceased and age or gender. Research on neuroendocrine mechanisms of grief is still in its early stages regarding grief measures and the use and timing of neuroendocrine assessments. Most of the studies focus on cortisol as outcome, and only limited data exist on other biomarkers such as oxytocin. Future research might consider assessing a broader range of neuroendocrine markers and use longitudinal designs with a focus on the psychobiological reactions to loss. Based on this, individually tailored psychosocial interventions, possibly in the palliative care context, might be developed to prevent prolonged grief disorder.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dora Hopf
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Monika Eckstein
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Corina Aguilar-Raab
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marco Warth
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Beate Ditzen
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Prounis GS, Ophir AG. The Impact of Early Postnatal and Juvenile Social Environments on the Effects of Chronic Intranasal Oxytocin in the Prairie Vole. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:206. [PMID: 31572140 PMCID: PMC6753389 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions between social experiences at different stages of development (e.g., with parents as juveniles and peers as subadults) can profoundly shape the expression of social behavior. Rarely are the influences of more than one stage of developmental sensitivity to social environment investigated simultaneously. Furthermore, oxytocin (OT) has an extraordinary effect on a breadth of social behaviors, activationally or organizationally. The use of intranasal OT (IN-OT) has become increasingly common therapeutically in humans and scientifically in non-human experiments, however very little attention has been paid to the potential developmental consequences on social behavior that might result. We investigated the effects of early-life social environments and the impact of chronic IN-OT on social behavior at different stages of development in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). We raised animals under two conditions: “socially enriched” (in which they were biparentally reared and then weaned into group housing as subadults), or “socially limited” (in which they were reared by a single-mother, and that were then weaned into social isolation). Males raised under each condition were either administered daily doses of IN-OT or a saline control for 21 days from postnatal day (PND) 21–42. During this time, we assessed the prosocial behavior subjects demonstrated by evaluating juvenile affiliation (as subadults), alloparental care (as adults no longer being exposed to IN-OT), and partner preference tests to assess tendencies to form adult monogamous pairbonds. We found that “socially limited” males, exhibited increased social contact in juvenile affiliation tests at PND 35 and 42. These males were also more likely to form a partner preference than “socially enriched” males and formed stronger partner preferences overall. IN-OT did not alter these behavioral effects. We also found that “socially limited” males exhibited a distinct response to chronic IN-OT treatment. When compared to all other treatment groups, “socially limited” males that received IN-OT exhibited a greater amount of huddling behavior in the alloparental care test. This effect was, in part, explained by an absence of attack behavior, found only in these males. This study contributes to understanding the complex interactions between the developmental social environment, oxytocin, and social behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- George S Prounis
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Alexander G Ophir
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Lara-Cinisomo S, D'Anna-Hernandez K, Fujimoto EM, Pedersen CA. Exploring associations between perinatal depression, anxiety, and urinary oxytocin levels in Latinas. Arch Womens Ment Health 2019; 22:447-455. [PMID: 30191332 PMCID: PMC7141787 DOI: 10.1007/s00737-018-0910-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Perinatal depression has been associated with lower oxytocin (OT) levels. However, few studies have explored this topic in relation to Latinas who are at high risk of perinatal depression. The objective of this study was to explore these associations in Latinas. A total of 108 Latinas in the third trimester of pregnancy participated in the study. Depression and urinary OT levels were assessed in pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum. Nonparametric tests were implemented to test the proposed associations. Results revealed that 28% of the participants had probable depression in pregnancy, and 23% at 6 weeks postpartum. OT levels significantly decreased from prenatal to postpartum in the whole sample; however, participants with probable prenatal depression did not exhibit a significant change in OT levels. Participants who were depressed or anxious at 6 weeks postpartum exhibited persistently higher mean OT levels over time. A distinct pattern of higher levels of OT in depressed Latinas suggests that OT levels may be an important neuroendocrine factor contributing to depressive and anxious symptoms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo
- College of Applied Health Sciences, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 S. Fourth Street, Champaign, IL, USA.
| | - Kimberly D'Anna-Hernandez
- Department of Psychology, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos, CA, 92096, USA
| | - Elinor M Fujimoto
- College of Applied Health Sciences, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 S. Fourth Street, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Cort A Pedersen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Hospitals, 101 Manning Dr., Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Ferrer-Pérez C, Reguilón MD, Manzanedo C, Miñarro J, Rodríguez-Arias M. Social Housing Conditions Modulate the Long-Lasting Increase in Cocaine Reward Induced by Intermittent Social Defeat. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:148. [PMID: 31333427 PMCID: PMC6622358 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Social defeat is considered the most representative animal model for studying the consequences of social stress. Intermittent social defeat (ISD) has proved to enhance the response to cocaine hedonic properties. In the present research, we evaluated if different social housing conditions, as housing with a familiar conspecific or with a female, exert a protective effect modulating the negative consequences of ISD as the increased sensitivity to cocaine and the induction of anxiety-like behavior. To achieve this objective, non-stressed or ISD OF1 male mice were divided into five different experimental groups according to their social environment: standard housing (four adult males per cage); male adolescent or adult in pairs (two males per cage); and adult males housed with a female for a short or long period (3 days vs. the whole duration of the study). Anxiety-like behavior was evaluated 19 days after the last episode of ISD using an elevated plus maze (EPM), and 24 h later the animals underwent a conditioned place preference paradigm (CPP) induced by a sub-threshold dose of cocaine (1 mg/kg). Following CPP, biological samples were taken to measure striatal levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and plasmatic levels of oxytocin (OT). Our results confirmed that ISD animals housed in standard condition displayed an anxious phenotype, developed CPP and had increased levels of IL-6 in the striatum. However, animals housed with a female or with a familiar male since adolescence did not develop CPP and were protected against the anxiogenic and neuroinflammatory potential of ISD stress. In the group of animals paired with a female throughout the experimental procedure, an increase in OT levels may have underlain this buffering effect, while the protective effect of being housed with a familiar male mouse seems to be related with a better resolution of the stress response. The present results expand our knowledge of the neurobiology of vulnerability to drug addiction and highlight the benefit of social support for recovery from the adverse effects of social stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Ferrer-Pérez
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Marina D Reguilón
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Carmen Manzanedo
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - José Miñarro
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Marta Rodríguez-Arias
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Greenwood MA, Hammock EAD. Oxytocin Receptor Binding Sites in the Periphery of the Neonatal Prairie Vole. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:474. [PMID: 31178680 PMCID: PMC6542991 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The oxytocin receptor (OXTR) has been observed in the periphery of neonatal C57BL/6J mice (Mus musculus), including facial regions and the anogenital area. In those studies, ligand specificity was confirmed with a congenital OXTR knockout mouse as well as competitive binding techniques. The aim of this study was to determine if OXTR is present in the same peripheral sites in the neonatal prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) for cross-species comparisons. Receptor autoradiography was performed on 20 μm sagittal sections of whole postnatal day 0 (P0) male and female prairie voles using the 125iodinated-ornithine vasotocin ([125I]-OVTA) radioligand. A competition binding assay was used to assess the selectivity of [125I]-OVTA for peripheral OXTR. Radioactive ligand (0.05 nM [125I]-OVTA) was competed against concentrations of 0 and 1000 nM excess unlabeled oxytocin (OXT). Previously identified regions of significant OXTR ligand binding in the mouse were analyzed for comparison: rostral and lateral periodontium, olfactory epithelium, ciliary bodies of the eye, whisker pads, adrenal gland, and anogenital area. We also evaluated the liver and scapular brown adipose tissue, which displayed strong but non-specific signal on film in mice. While there were some areas that showed conserved OXTR ligand binding in the prairie vole (e.g., ciliary body of the eye and the anogenital area), areas showing OXTR ligand binding in the neonatal prairie vole were not identical to OXTR ligand binding in the periphery of the C57BL/6J neonatal mouse. Further, some of the regions measured in the prairie vole suggest sex differences in OXTR ligand binding. Collectively, as is well-established in the central nervous system, these data indicate that patterns of OXTR ligand binding in the infant periphery are species-specific.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Greenwood
- Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States.,Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
| | - Elizabeth A D Hammock
- Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States.,Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Stevenson JR, McMahon EK, Boner W, Haussmann MF. Oxytocin administration prevents cellular aging caused by social isolation. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 103:52-60. [PMID: 30640038 PMCID: PMC7476076 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Revised: 12/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Chronic stressors, such as chronic isolation in social mammals, can elevate glucocorticoids, which can affect cellular mechanisms of aging, including increased levels of oxidative stress and shortened telomere lengths. Recent work in the selectively social prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) suggests that oxytocin and social support may mitigate some of the negative consequences of social isolation, possibly by reducing glucocorticoid levels. We investigated the influences of isolation, social support, and daily oxytocin injections in female prairie voles. Glucocorticoid levels, oxidative damage, telomere length, and anhedonia, a behavioral index of depression, were measured throughout the study. We found that six weeks of chronic isolation led to increased glucocorticoid levels, oxidative damage, telomere degradation and anhedonia. However, daily oxytocin injections in isolated voles prevented these negative consequences. These findings demonstrate that chronic social isolation in female prairie voles is a potent stressor that results in depression-like behavior and accelerated cellular aging. Importantly, oxytocin can completely prevent the negative consequences of social isolation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennie R. Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA,Corresponding author at: 215 O’Leary Center, 1 Dent Drive, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, United States. (J.R. Stevenson)
| | | | - Winnie Boner
- Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | | |
Collapse
|
18
|
Grippo AJ, McNeal N, Watanasriyakul WT, Cacioppo S, Scotti MAL, Dagner A. Behavioral and cardiovascular consequences of disrupted oxytocin communication in cohabitating pairs of male and female prairie voles. Soc Neurosci 2019; 14:649-662. [PMID: 30658044 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1572031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Negative social experiences may influence psychological and physiological health via altered central oxytocin communication. The prairie vole is valuable for investigating the potential influence of oxytocin on responses to social experiences. Prairie voles are socially monogamous, live in pairs or family groups, and respond negatively to changes in the social environment. This study investigated the hypothesis that disruptions of oxytocin in one prairie vole of a cohabitating male-female pair would alter social behavior in that specific animal; and these behavioral changes in turn would influence the untreated partner's behavior and physiology. Pharmacological antagonism of oxytocin with the receptor antagonist L-368,899 in the male prairie vole disrupted social behaviors between the male and his untreated female partner. This manipulation also negatively influenced the behavior and cardiovascular function in the untreated female partner, including increased: (a) depression-relevant behaviors in two behavioral stressors, (b) basal mean arterial pressure and heart rate, and (c) cardiovascular reactivity to the behavioral stressors. These results suggest that disruptions of oxytocin and social behavior in one animal may produce indicators of social stress in an untreated social partner. This preliminary research provides a foundation for future studies to investigate mechanisms underlying responses to social experiences in humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Angela J Grippo
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , IL , USA
| | - Neal McNeal
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , IL , USA
| | | | - Stephanie Cacioppo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, University of Chicago , Chicago , IL , USA
| | - Melissa-Ann L Scotti
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , IL , USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Brain-Body Center, University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago , IL , USA
| | - Ashley Dagner
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University , DeKalb , IL , USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Ferrer-Pérez C, Castro-Zavala A, Luján MÁ, Filarowska J, Ballestín R, Miñarro J, Valverde O, Rodríguez-Arias M. Oxytocin prevents the increase of cocaine-related responses produced by social defeat. Neuropharmacology 2018; 146:50-64. [PMID: 30448423 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Revised: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays a critical role in the regulation of social and emotional behaviors. OXT plays a role in stress response and in drug reward, but to date no studies have evaluated its implication in the long-lasting increase of the motivational effects of cocaine induced by repeated social defeat (RSD). During the social defeat procedure, 1 mg/kg of OXT was administered 30 min before each episode of RSD. Three weeks after the last defeat, the effects of cocaine on the conditioned place preference (CPP), locomotor sensitization and the self-administration (SA) paradigms were evaluated. The influence of OXT on the levels of BDNF in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), striatum and hippocampus was also measured. Our results confirm that raising the levels of OXT during social defeat stress can block the long-lasting effects of this type of stress. OXT counteracts the anxiety induced by social defeat and modifies BDNF levels in all the structures we have studied. Moreover, OXT prevents RSD-induced increases in the motivational effects of cocaine. Administration of OXT before each social defeat blocked the social defeat-induced increment in the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine in the CPP, favored the extinction of cocaine-associated memories in both the CPP and SA, and decreased reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior in the SA. In conclusion, the long-lasting effects of RSD are counteracted by administering OXT prior to stress, and changes in BDNF expression may underlie these protective effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Ferrer-Pérez
- Unit of Research on Psychobiology of Drug Dependence, Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Adriana Castro-Zavala
- Neurobiology of Behavior Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Health and Experimental Sciences, University Pompeu Fabra, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel Luján
- Neurobiology of Behavior Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Health and Experimental Sciences, University Pompeu Fabra, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joanna Filarowska
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Lublin, Chodzki 4a, 20-093, Lublin, Poland
| | - Raúl Ballestín
- Unit of Research on Psychobiology of Drug Dependence, Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - José Miñarro
- Unit of Research on Psychobiology of Drug Dependence, Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Olga Valverde
- Neurobiology of Behavior Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Health and Experimental Sciences, University Pompeu Fabra, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Rodríguez-Arias
- Unit of Research on Psychobiology of Drug Dependence, Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Janeček M, Dabrowska J. Oxytocin facilitates adaptive fear and attenuates anxiety responses in animal models and human studies-potential interaction with the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Cell Tissue Res 2018; 375:143-172. [PMID: 30054732 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-018-2889-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Despite its relatively well-understood role as a reproductive and pro-social peptide, oxytocin (OT) tells a more convoluted story in terms of its modulation of fear and anxiety. This nuanced story has been obscured by a great deal of research into the therapeutic applications of exogenous OT, driving more than 400 ongoing clinical trials. Drawing from animal models and human studies, we review the complex evidence concerning OT's role in fear learning and anxiety, clarifying the existing confusion about modulation of fear versus anxiety. We discuss animal models and human studies demonstrating the prevailing role of OT in strengthening fear memory to a discrete signal or cue, which allows accurate and rapid threat detection that facilitates survival. We also review ostensibly contrasting behavioral studies that nonetheless provide compelling evidence of OT attenuating sustained contextual fear and anxiety-like behavior, arguing that these OT effects on the modulation of fear vs. anxiety are not mutually exclusive. To disambiguate how endogenous OT modulates fear and anxiety, an understudied area compared to exogenous OT, we survey behavioral studies utilizing OT receptor (OTR) antagonists. Based on emerging evidence about the role of OTR in rat dorsolateral bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) and elsewhere, we postulate that OT plays a critical role in facilitating accurate discrimination between stimuli representing threat and safety. Supported by human studies, we demonstrate that OT uniquely facilitates adaptive fear but reduces maladaptive anxiety. Last, we explore the limited literature on endogenous OT and its interaction with corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) with a special emphasis on the dorsolateral BNST, which may hold the key to the neurobiology of phasic fear and sustained anxiety.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Janeček
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Joanna Dabrowska
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA. .,Department of Neuroscience, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Williams AV, Trainor BC. The impact of sex as a biological variable in the search for novel antidepressants. Front Neuroendocrinol 2018; 50:107-117. [PMID: 29859882 PMCID: PMC6139050 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
A roadblock to successful treatment for anxiety and depression is the high proportion of individuals that do not respond to existing treatments. Different underlying neurobiological mechanisms may drive similar symptoms, so a more personalized approach to treatment could be more successful. There is increasing evidence that sex is an important biological variable modulating efficacy of antidepressants and anxiolytics. We review evidence for sex-specific effects of traditional monoamine based antidepressants and newer pharmaceuticals targeting kappa opioid receptors (KOR), oxytocin receptors (OTR), and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (ketamine). In some cases, similar behavioral effects are observed in both sexes while in other cases strong sex-specific effects are observed. Most intriguing are cases such as ketamine which has similar behavioral effects in males and females, perhaps through sex-specific neurobiological mechanisms. These results show how essential it is to include both males and females in both clinical and preclinical evaluations of novel antidepressants and anxiolytics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexia V Williams
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States.
| | - Brian C Trainor
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Garrott K, Dyavanapalli J, Cauley E, Dwyer MK, Kuzmiak-Glancy S, Wang X, Mendelowitz D, Kay MW. Chronic activation of hypothalamic oxytocin neurons improves cardiac function during left ventricular hypertrophy-induced heart failure. Cardiovasc Res 2018; 113:1318-1328. [PMID: 28472396 DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvx084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 04/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Aims A distinctive hallmark of heart failure (HF) is autonomic imbalance, consisting of increased sympathetic activity, and decreased parasympathetic tone. Recent work suggests that activation of hypothalamic oxytocin (OXT) neurons could improve autonomic balance during HF. We hypothesized that a novel method of chronic selective activation of hypothalamic OXT neurons will improve cardiac function and reduce inflammation and fibrosis in a rat model of HF. Methods and results Two groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent trans-ascending aortic constriction (TAC) to induce left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy that progresses to HF. In one TAC group, OXT neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus were chronically activated by selective expression and activation of excitatory DREADDs receptors with daily injections of clozapine N-oxide (CNO) (TAC + OXT). Two additional age-matched groups received either saline injections (Control) or CNO injections for excitatory DREADDs activation (OXT NORM). Heart rate (HR), LV developed pressure (LVDP), and coronary flow rate were measured in isolated heart experiments. Isoproterenol (0.01 nM-1.0 µM) was administered to evaluate β-adrenergic sensitivity. We found that increases in cellular hypertrophy and myocardial collagen density in TAC were blunted in TAC + OXT animals. Inflammatory cytokine IL-1β expression was more than twice higher in TAC than all other hearts. LVDP, rate pressure product (RPP), contractility, and relaxation were depressed in TAC compared with all other groups. The response of TAC and TAC + OXT hearts to isoproterenol was blunted, with no significant increase in RPP, contractility, or relaxation. However, HR in TAC + OXT animals increased to match Control at higher doses of isoproterenol. Conclusions Activation of hypothalamic OXT neurons to elevate parasympathetic tone reduced cellular hypertrophy, levels of IL-1β, and fibrosis during TAC-induced HF in rats. Cardiac contractility parameters were significantly higher in TAC + OXT compared with TAC animals. HR sensitivity, but not contractile sensitivity, to β-adrenergic stimulation was improved in TAC + OXT hearts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kara Garrott
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, GWU Science and Engineering Hall, 800?22nd Street NW, Suite 5000, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Jhansi Dyavanapalli
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Ross Hall, 2300 Eye St. NW, Suite 640, Washington, DC 20037, USA
| | - Edmund Cauley
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Ross Hall, 2300 Eye St. NW, Suite 640, Washington, DC 20037, USA
| | - Mary Kate Dwyer
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, GWU Science and Engineering Hall, 800?22nd Street NW, Suite 5000, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Sarah Kuzmiak-Glancy
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, GWU Science and Engineering Hall, 800?22nd Street NW, Suite 5000, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Ross Hall, 2300 Eye St. NW, Suite 640, Washington, DC 20037, USA
| | - David Mendelowitz
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Ross Hall, 2300 Eye St. NW, Suite 640, Washington, DC 20037, USA
| | - Matthew W Kay
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, GWU Science and Engineering Hall, 800?22nd Street NW, Suite 5000, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Colonnello V, Petrocchi N, Farinelli M, Ottaviani C. Positive Social Interactions in a Lifespan Perspective with a Focus on Opioidergic and Oxytocinergic Systems: Implications for Neuroprotection. Curr Neuropharmacol 2018; 15:543-561. [PMID: 27538784 PMCID: PMC5543675 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x14666160816120209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2015] [Revised: 03/05/2016] [Accepted: 08/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, a growing interest has emerged in the beneficial effects of positive social interactions on health. The present work aims to review animal and human studies linking social interactions and health throughout the lifespan, with a focus on current knowledge of the possible mediating role of opioids and oxytocin. During the prenatal period, a positive social environment contributes to regulating maternal stress response and protecting the fetus from exposure to maternal active glucocorticoids. Throughout development, positive social contact with the caregiver acts as a “hidden regulator” and promotes infant neuroaffective development. Postnatal social neuroprotection interventions involving caregiver–infant physical contact seem to be crucial for rescuing preterm infants at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Attachment figures and friendships in adulthood continue to have a protective role for health and brain functioning, counteracting brain aging. In humans, implementation of meditative practices that promote compassionate motivation and prosocial behavior appears beneficial for health in adolescents and adults. Human and animal studies suggest the oxytocinergic and opioidergic systems are important mediators of the effects of social interactions. However, most of the studies focus on a specific phase of life (i.e., adulthood). Future studies should focus on the role of opioids and oxytocin in positive social interactions adopting a lifespan perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Colonnello
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna. Italy
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Lewis R, Wilkins B, Benjamin B, Curtis JT. Cardiovascular control is associated with pair-bond success in male prairie voles. Auton Neurosci 2017; 208:93-102. [PMID: 29108934 DOI: 10.1016/j.autneu.2017.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2017] [Revised: 09/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Social support structures reduce mortality and morbidity in humans, but the mechanisms underlying these reductions are not fully understood. The prevailing hypothesis is that social support buffers stress and reduces allostatic load, thereby increasing longevity. However, the possibility that affiliative social interactions confer health benefits independent of stress buffering is understudied. We examined autonomic function in prairie voles - arguably the premier species for modeling human social affiliation - to assess the possibility that the formation of strong social bonds alters autonomic function and contributes to health benefits. We examined cardiovascular measures in male prairie voles before and after two weeks of cohabitation with a female, during a partner preference test, and during social isolation. There were strong correlations between social contact and heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), the latter being an index of autonomic nervous system function. Males that successfully pair-bonded with their partners displayed higher HRV prior to pairing than did unsuccessful males, suggesting higher basal parasympathetic tone in the successful males. HRV increased further still when pair-bonded males huddled quietly with their mates during the partner preference test. Non-pair-bonded males not only had lower baseline parasympathetic activity, but showed a further decrease after pairing. HR increased and HRV decreased during social isolation only in pair-bonded males. Since differences in HRV are thought to reflect the relative influences of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems on cardiac function, these results suggest that autonomic balance may contribute to social bonding and thus to its health benefits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert Lewis
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA.
| | - Brek Wilkins
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA.
| | - Bruce Benjamin
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA.
| | - J Thomas Curtis
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Jain V, Marbach J, Kimbro S, Andrade DC, Jain A, Capozzi E, Mele K, Del Rio R, Kay MW, Mendelowitz D. Benefits of oxytocin administration in obstructive sleep apnea. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2017; 313:L825-L833. [PMID: 28798255 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00206.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Activation of oxytocin receptors has shown benefits in animal models of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We tested if nocturnal oxytocin administration could have beneficial effects in OSA patients. Eight patients diagnosed with OSA were administered intranasal oxytocin (40 IU). Changes in cardiorespiratory events during sleep, including apnea and hypopnea durations and frequency, risk of event-associated arousals, and heart rate variability, were assessed. Oxytocin significantly increased indexes of parasympathetic activity, including heart rate variability, total sleep time, and the postpolysommogram sleep assessment score, an index of self-reported sleep satisfaction. Although the apnea-hypopnea index was not significantly changed with oxytocin administration, when apnea and hypopnea events were compared independently, the frequency of hypopneas, but not apneas, was significantly (P ≤ 0.005) decreased with oxytocin treatment. Both apneas and hypopneas were significantly shortened in duration with oxytocin treatment. Oxytocin treatment significantly decreased the percent of apnea and hypopnea events that were accompanied with an arousal. Oxytocin administration has the potential to restore cardiorespiratory homeostasis and reduce some clinically important (objective and patient-reported) adverse events that occur with OSA. Additional studies are needed to further understand the mechanisms by which oxytocin promotes these changes in cardiorespiratory and autonomic function in OSA patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Jain
- Department of Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Joseph Marbach
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Shawn Kimbro
- Department of Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - David C Andrade
- Laboratory of Cardiorespiratory Control, Department of Physiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; and
| | - Arad Jain
- Department of Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Eleanor Capozzi
- Department of Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Kyle Mele
- Department of Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Rodrigo Del Rio
- Laboratory of Cardiorespiratory Control, Department of Physiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; and
| | - Matthew W Kay
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - David Mendelowitz
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Gouin JP, Zhou QQ, Booij L, Boivin M, Côté SM, Hébert M, Ouellet-Morin I, Szyf M, Tremblay RE, Turecki G, Vitaro F. Associations among oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) DNA methylation in adulthood, exposure to early life adversity, and childhood trajectories of anxiousness. Sci Rep 2017; 7:7446. [PMID: 28785027 PMCID: PMC5547144 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07950-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent models propose deoxyribonucleic acid methylation of key neuro-regulatory genes as a molecular mechanism underlying the increased risk of mental disorder associated with early life adversity (ELA). The goal of this study was to examine the association of ELA with oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) methylation among young adults. Drawing from a 21-year longitudinal cohort, we compared adulthood OXTR methylation frequency of 46 adults (23 males and 23 females) selected for high or low ELA exposure based on childhood socioeconomic status and exposure to physical and sexual abuse during childhood and adolescence. Associations between OXTR methylation and teacher-rated childhood trajectories of anxiousness were also assessed. ELA exposure was associated with one significant CpG site in the first intron among females, but not among males. Similarly, childhood trajectories of anxiousness were related to one significant CpG site within the promoter region among females, but not among males. This study suggests that females might be more sensitive to the impact of ELA on OXTR methylation than males.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J P Gouin
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Q Q Zhou
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
| | - L Booij
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
- Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - M Boivin
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), Laval University, Québec, Canada
- Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russian Federation
- School of Psychology, Laval University, Québec, Canada
| | - S M Côté
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, INSERM and Bordeaux University, Bordeaux, France
| | - M Hébert
- Department of Sexology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - I Ouellet-Morin
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Criminology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - M Szyf
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - R E Tremblay
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Departments of Pediatrics and Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- School of Public Health, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - G Turecki
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - F Vitaro
- Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- School of Psychoeducation, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Abstract
Social relationships throughout life are vital for well-being and physical and mental health. A significant amount of research in animal models as well as in humans suggests that oxytocin (OT) plays an important role in the development of the capacity to form social bonds, the mediation of the positive aspects of early-life nurturing on adult bonding capacity, and the maintenance of social bonding. Here, we focus on the extensive research on a socially monogamous rodent model organism, the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). OT facilitates mating-induced pair bonds in adults through interaction with the mesolimbic dopamine system. Variation in striatal OT receptor density predicts resilience and susceptibility to neonatal social neglect in female prairie voles. Finally, in adults, loss of a partner results in multiple disruptions in OT signaling, including decreased OT release in the striatum, which is caused by an activation of the brain corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) system. The dramatic behavioral consequence of partner loss is increased depressive-like behavior reminiscent of bereavement. Importantly, infusions of OT into the striatum of adults prevents the onset of depressive-like behavior following partner loss, and evoking endogenous OT release using melanocortin agonists during neonatal social isolation rescues impairments in social bonding in adulthood. This work has important translational implications relevant to the disruptions of social bonds in childhood and in adults.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Oliver J Bosch
- Department of Behavioural and Molecular Neurobiology, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, 93053, Germany.
| | - Larry J Young
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has emerged as a potent modulator of diverse aspects of interpersonal relationships. OT appears to work in close interaction with several other neurotransmitter networks, including the dopaminergic reward circuit, and to be dependent on sex-specific hormonal influences. In this chapter, we focus on four main domains of OT and interpersonal relationships, including (1) the protective effect of OT on an individual's ability to withstand stress (i.e., stress buffering), (2) the effect of OT on emotion recognition and empathy, (3) OT's ability to enhance social synchrony and cooperation among individuals, and (4) the effect of OT on an individual's perception of social touch. We then illustrate the connection between OT and loneliness while grieving the loss of a loved one. We finish by discussing the clinical potential of OT, focusing on its potential role as an adjunct to psychotherapy, its enhancement through sex-specific hormonal influences, and the difficulties that present themselves when considering OT as a therapy. Overall, we argue that OT continues to hold strong therapeutic promise, but that it is strongly dependent on internal and external influences, for instance the patient's personal past experiences and interaction with the therapist, in order to provide the best possible therapy.
Collapse
|
29
|
Abstract
A small, but powerful neuropeptide, oxytocin coordinates processes that are central to both human reproduction and human evolution. Also embedded in the evolution of the human nervous system are unique pathways necessary for modern human sociality and cognition. Oxytocin is necessary for facilitating the birth process, especially in light of anatomical restrictions imposed by upright human locomotion, which depends on a fixed pelvis. Oxytocin, by facilitating birth, allowed the development of a large cortex and a protective bony cranium. The complex human brain in turn permitted the continuing emergence of social sensitivity, complex thinking, and language. After birth is complete, oxytocin continues to support human development by providing direct nutrition, in the form of human milk, and emotional and intellectual support through high levels of maternal behavior and selective attachment. Oxytocin also encourages social sensitivity and reciprocal attunement, on the part of both the mother and child, which are necessary for human social behavior and for rearing an emotionally healthy human child. Oxytocin supports growth during development, resilience, and healing across the lifespan. Oxytocin dynamically moderates the autonomic nervous system, and effects of oxytocin on vagal pathways allowing high levels of oxygenation and digestion necessary to support adaptation in a complex environment. Finally, oxytocin has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, helping to explain the pervasive adaptive consequences of social behavior for emotional and physical health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C Sue Carter
- Kinsey Institute, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Abstract
Selective relationships and attachments are central to human health and well-being, both in current societies and during the course of evolution. The presence or absence of social bonds has consequences across the lifespan. The neurobiology of attachment is grounded in neuroendocrine substrates that are shared with reproduction and survival. Experimental studies of species, such as sheep or prairie voles, capable of showing selective social behaviors toward offspring or partners, have provided empirical evidence for the role of oxytocin and vasopressin in the formation of selective attachments. Developmental exposure to social experiences and to peptides, including oxytocin and vasopressin, also can "retune" the nervous system, altering thresholds for sociality, emotion regulation, and aggression. Without oxytocin and without the ability to form attachments the human brain as we know it could not exist. Knowledge of the neurobiology of attachment, and especially the role of oxytocin, also has implications for understanding both healthy behavior and treating mental disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C Sue Carter
- Director, Kinsey Institute, Rudy Professor of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Tabbaa M, Paedae B, Liu Y, Wang Z. Neuropeptide Regulation of Social Attachment: The Prairie Vole Model. Compr Physiol 2016; 7:81-104. [PMID: 28135000 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c150055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Social attachments are ubiquitous among humans and integral to human health. Although great efforts have been made to elucidate the neural underpinnings regulating social attachments, we still know relatively little about the neuronal and neurochemical regulation of social attachments. As a laboratory animal research model, the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) displays behaviors paralleling human social attachments and thus has provided unique insights into the neural regulation of social behaviors. Research in prairie voles has particularly highlighted the significance of neuropeptidergic regulation of social behaviors, especially of the roles of oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP). This article aims to review these findings. We begin by discussing the role of the OT and AVP systems in regulating social behaviors relevant to social attachments, and thereafter restrict our discussion to studies in prairie voles. Specifically, we discuss the role of OT and AVP in adult mate attachments, biparental care, social isolation, and social buffering as informed by studies utilizing the prairie vole model. Not only do these studies offer insight into social attachments in humans, but they also point to dysregulated mechanisms in several mental disorders. We conclude by discussing these implications for human health. © 2017 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 7:81-104, 2017.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manal Tabbaa
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Brennan Paedae
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Yan Liu
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Zuoxin Wang
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Steinman MQ, Duque-Wilckens N, Greenberg GD, Hao R, Campi KL, Laredo SA, Laman-Maharg A, Manning CE, Doig IE, Lopez EM, Walch K, Bales KL, Trainor BC. Sex-Specific Effects of Stress on Oxytocin Neurons Correspond With Responses to Intranasal Oxytocin. Biol Psychiatry 2016; 80:406-14. [PMID: 26620251 PMCID: PMC4837091 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Revised: 09/18/2015] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Oxytocin (OT) is considered to be a stress-buffering hormone, dampening the physiologic effects of stress. However, OT can also be anxiogenic. We examined acute and long-lasting effects of social defeat on OT neurons in male and female California mice. METHODS We used immunohistochemistry for OT and c-fos cells to examine OT neuron activity immediately after defeat (n = 6-9) and 2 weeks (n = 6-9) and 10 weeks (n = 4-5) later. We quantified Oxt messenger RNA with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (n = 5-9). Intranasal OT was administered to naïve and stressed mice tested in social interaction and resident-intruder tests (n = 8-14). RESULTS Acute exposure to a third episode of defeat increased OT/c-fos colocalizations in the paraventricular nucleus of both sexes. In the medioventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, defeat increased Oxt messenger RNA, total OT neurons, and OT/c-fos colocalizations in female mice but not male mice. Intranasal OT failed to reverse stress-induced social withdrawal in female mice and reduced social interaction behavior in female mice naïve to defeat. In contrast, intranasal OT increased social interaction in stressed male mice and reduced freezing in the resident-intruder test. CONCLUSIONS Social defeat induces long-lasting increases in OT production and OT/c-fos cells in the medioventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of female mice but not male mice. Intranasal OT largely reversed the effects of stress on behavior in male mice, but effects were mixed in female mice. These results suggest that changes in OT-sensitive networks contribute to sex differences in behavioral responses to stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Q. Steinman
- Molecular, Cellular, Integrative Physiology Graduate Group, University of California Davis, CA 95616,Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Natalia Duque-Wilckens
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616,Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Gian D. Greenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616,Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Rebecca Hao
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | | | - Sarah A. Laredo
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616,Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Abigail Laman-Maharg
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616,Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | | | - Ian E. Doig
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Eduardo M. Lopez
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Keenan Walch
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Karen L. Bales
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Brian C. Trainor
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616,Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA 95616,Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Dyavanapalli J, Dergacheva O, Wang X, Mendelowitz D. Parasympathetic Vagal Control of Cardiac Function. Curr Hypertens Rep 2016; 18:22. [PMID: 26849575 DOI: 10.1007/s11906-016-0630-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
This brief review focuses on four new topics, with novel and clinically significant consequences, concerning the powerful influence of parasympathetic activity on cardiac function. In this short summary, we will highlight very recent and important work, published in the last 3-4 years, that (1) challenges the paradigm that parasympathetic activity to the heart is involved in the control of heart rate but plays little role in other cardiac functions, (2) characterizes important long-range synaptic pathways to parasympathetic cardiac vagal neurons that are involved in "higher" brain functions (such as arousal and emotional challenges), (3) asks whether implantable chronic vagal nerve stimulation is a promising clinical tool for treating cardiovascular diseases, and (4) describes newly identified neuropeptides and other modulators that can influence the generation and maintenance of parasympathetic activity to the heart.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jhansi Dyavanapalli
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, 2300 Eye St NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA
| | - Olga Dergacheva
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, 2300 Eye St NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, 2300 Eye St NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA
| | - David Mendelowitz
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, 2300 Eye St NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Crestani CC. Emotional Stress and Cardiovascular Complications in Animal Models: A Review of the Influence of Stress Type. Front Physiol 2016; 7:251. [PMID: 27445843 PMCID: PMC4919347 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/09/2016] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotional stress has been recognized as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The impact of stress on physiological and psychological processes is determined by characteristics of the stress stimulus. For example, distinct responses are induced by acute vs. chronic aversive stimuli. Additionally, the magnitude of stress responses has been reported to be inversely related to the degree of predictability of the aversive stimulus. Therefore, the purpose of the present review was to discuss experimental research in animal models describing the influence of stressor stimulus characteristics, such as chronicity and predictability, in cardiovascular dysfunctions induced by emotional stress. Regarding chronicity, the importance of cardiovascular and autonomic adjustments during acute stress sessions and cardiovascular consequences of frequent stress response activation during repeated exposure to aversive threats (i.e., chronic stress) is discussed. Evidence of the cardiovascular and autonomic changes induced by chronic stressors involving daily exposure to the same stressor (predictable) vs. different stressors (unpredictable) is reviewed and discussed in terms of the impact of predictability in cardiovascular dysfunctions induced by stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos C Crestani
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista Araraquara, Brasil
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Yee JR, Kenkel WM, Frijling JL, Dodhia S, Onishi KG, Tovar S, Saber MJ, Lewis GF, Liu W, Porges SW, Carter CS. Oxytocin promotes functional coupling between paraventricular nucleus and both sympathetic and parasympathetic cardioregulatory nuclei. Horm Behav 2016; 80:82-91. [PMID: 26836772 PMCID: PMC5768414 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2015] [Revised: 12/29/2015] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) facilitates prosocial behavior and selective sociality. In the context of stress, OXT also can down-regulate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, leading to consideration of OXT as a potential treatment for many socioaffective disorders. However, the mechanisms through which administration of exogenous OXT modulates social behavior in stressful environmental contexts are not fully understood. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that autonomic pathways are components of the mechanisms through which OXT aids the recruitment of social resources in stressful contexts that may elicit mobilized behavioral responses. Female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) underwent a stressor (walking in shallow water) following pretreatment with intraperitoneal OXT (0.25mg/kg) or OXT antagonist (OXT-A, 20mg/kg), and were allowed to recover with or without their sibling cagemate. Administration of OXT resulted in elevated OXT concentrations in plasma, but did not dampen the HPA axis response to a stressor. However, OXT, but not OXT-A, pretreatment prevented the functional coupling, usually seen in the absence of OXT, between paraventricular nucleus (PVN) activity as measured by c-Fos immunoreactivity and HPA output (i.e. corticosterone release). Furthermore, OXT pretreatment resulted in functional coupling between PVN activity and brain regions regulating both sympathetic (i.e. rostral ventrolateral medulla) and parasympathetic (i.e. dorsal vagal complex and nucleus ambiguous) branches of the autonomic nervous system. These findings suggest that OXT increases central neural control of autonomic activity, rather than strictly dampening HPA axis activity, and provides a potential mechanism through which OXT may facilitate adaptive and context-dependent behavioral and physiological responses to stressors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jason R Yee
- Northeastern University, United States; The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, United States.
| | - William M Kenkel
- Northeastern University, United States; The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Gregory F Lewis
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States
| | | | - Stephen W Porges
- The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, United States; The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States
| | - C Sue Carter
- The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, United States
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Jameson H, Bateman R, Byrne P, Dyavanapalli J, Wang X, Jain V, Mendelowitz D. Oxytocin neuron activation prevents hypertension that occurs with chronic intermittent hypoxia/hypercapnia in rats. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2016; 310:H1549-57. [PMID: 27016581 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00808.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Hypertension is a common outcome associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a prevalent yet poorly treated cardiovascular disease. Recent studies showed oxytocin (OXT), released from hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) neurons, activates cardiac vagal neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMNX) and may blunt cardiovascular responses to stress. This study tests whether the release of OXT from PVN fibers in the DMNX is diminished with chronic intermittent hypoxia-hypercapnia (CIH/H) exposure, an animal model of OSA, and whether activation of PVN OXT neurons restores OXT release in the DMNX and prevents the hypertension resulting from CIH/H. To assess OXT release from PVN fibers, Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cells were engineered to be highly sensitive to OXT by stable expression of the human recombinant OXT receptor and the calcium indicator R-GECO1. PVN fibers in the DMNX were selectively photoactivated in vitro by expression of channelrhodopsin. The release of OXT onto CHO cells in the DMNX was blunted in rats exposed to 21 days of CIH/H. Chronic activation of PVN OXT neurons in vivo, using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs, restored the release of OXT onto CHO cells in the DMNX. Chronic PVN OXT neuron activation in vivo also prevented the hypertension that occurred in conscious unrestrained telemetry-equipped sham rats exposed to 3 wk of CIH/H. These results demonstrate that chronic activation of OXT neurons restores the release of OXT from PVN fibers in the DMNX and prevents the hypertension that occurs with 3 wk of CIH/H exposure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Heather Jameson
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC; Institute for Biomedical Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Ryan Bateman
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Peter Byrne
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Jhansi Dyavanapalli
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC; Institute for Biomedical Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Vivek Jain
- Department of Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - David Mendelowitz
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC; Institute for Biomedical Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC;
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Lebowitz ER, Leckman JF, Feldman R, Zagoory-Sharon O, McDonald N, Silverman WK. Salivary oxytocin in clinically anxious youth: Associations with separation anxiety and family accommodation. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2016; 65:35-43. [PMID: 26716876 PMCID: PMC4895196 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2015] [Revised: 11/12/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Clinical anxiety disorders in youth are common and associated with interpersonal behaviors including reliance on parents for family accommodation, or changes that parents make to their own behaviors to help the youth avoid anxiety related distress. The neuropeptide oxytocin is associated with the regulation of anxiety and of close interpersonal behavior leading to the hypothesis that oxytocinergic functioning plays a role in youth anxiety and its disorders, and the resulting family accommodation. To test this hypothesis salivary OT from 50 youth with primary DSM-5 anxiety disorders was assayed. A multi-source/multi-method anxiety assessment including semistructured interviews with youth and mothers, rating scales, and behavioral observations was used to assess anxiety disorders and symptoms, and family accommodation. Youth with separation anxiety disorder had significantly lower salivary OT levels than clinically anxious youth not diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder. Salivary OT levels were significantly negatively correlated with separation anxiety symptoms based on both youth- and mother-ratings. Anxious behavior displayed by youth during interactions with their mothers was associated with lower salivary OT levels in youth. Maternal ratings of family accommodation were negatively associated with salivary OT levels in youth. Results support the role of the oxytocinergic system in youth anxiety and its disorders and in parental involvement in youth anxiety through family accommodation. OT may be particularly important for diagnoses and symptoms of separation anxiety, which is inherently interpersonal in nature. Findings have potentially important implications for assessment and treatment of anxiety in youth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eli R. Lebowitz
- Yale Child Study Center, United States,Corresponding author at: Yale Child Study Center, 230 S. Frontage Rd., New Haven, CT 06515, United States. Fax: +1 203 737 6994. (E.R. Lebowitz)
| | | | - Ruth Feldman
- Gonda Brain Research, Bar Ilan University, Israel
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Hicks C, Cornish JL, Baracz SJ, Suraev A, McGregor IS. Adolescent pre-treatment with oxytocin protects against adult methamphetamine-seeking behavior in female rats. Addict Biol 2016; 21:304-15. [PMID: 25402719 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT), given acutely, reduces self-administration of the psychostimulant drug methamphetamine (METH). Additionally, chronic OT administration to adolescent rats reduces levels of alcohol consumption in adulthood, suggesting developmental neuroplasticity in the OT system relevant to addiction-related behaviors. Here, we examined whether OT exposure during adolescence might subsequently inhibit METH self-administration in adulthood. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were administered vehicle or OT (1 mg/kg, i.p.) once daily from postnatal days (PND) 28 to 37 (adolescence). At PND 62 (adulthood), rats were trained to self-administer METH (intravenous, i.v.) in daily 2-hour sessions for 10 days under a fixed ratio 1 (FR1) reinforcement schedule, followed by determination of dose-response functions (0.01-0.3 mg/kg/infusion, i.v.) under both FR1 and progressive ratio (PR) schedules of reinforcement. Responding was then extinguished, and relapse to METH-seeking behavior assessed following priming doses of non-contingent METH (0.1-1 mg/kg, i.p.). Finally, plasma was collected to determine pre-treatment effects on OT and corticosterone levels. Results showed that OT pre-treatment did not significantly inhibit the acquisition of METH self-administration or FR1 responding. However, rats pre-treated with OT responded significantly less for METH under a PR reinforcement schedule, and showed reduced METH-primed reinstatement with the 1 mg/kg prime. Plasma OT levels were also significantly higher in OT pre-treated rats. These results confirm earlier observations that adolescent OT exposure can subtly, yet significantly, inhibit addiction-relevant behaviors in adulthood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Callum Hicks
- School of Psychology; University of Sydney; Australia
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Hurlemann R, Scheele D. Dissecting the Role of Oxytocin in the Formation and Loss of Social Relationships. Biol Psychiatry 2016; 79:185-93. [PMID: 26122876 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2015] [Revised: 05/19/2015] [Accepted: 05/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Current concepts of human sociality highlight a fundamental role of the hypothalamic peptide oxytocin (OXT) in the formation and maintenance of social relationships. However, emerging evidence indicates that OXT does not invariably facilitate social bonding but also produces nonprosocial effects that may have evolved to promote offspring survival. From a mechanistic perspective, we hypothesize that OXT modulates interoceptive signals and self-referential processing, which may result in various social outcomes depending on context- and person-dependent variables such as early-life adversity. Based on this theoretical framework, we discuss translational implications for clinical trials and identify open questions for future research. Specifically, we propose that disrupted OXT signaling due to the loss of affectionate bonds may contribute to emotional disequilibrium and confer elevated risk for the onset of stress-related disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- René Hurlemann
- Department of Psychiatry and Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
| | - Dirk Scheele
- Department of Psychiatry and Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Lewis R, Curtis JT. Male prairie voles display cardiovascular dipping associated with an ultradian activity cycle. Physiol Behav 2016; 156:106-16. [PMID: 26780151 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 01/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mammals typically display alternating active and resting phases and, in most species, these rhythms follow a circadian pattern. The active and resting phases often are accompanied by corresponding physiological changes. In humans, blood pressure decreases during the resting phase of the activity cycle, and the magnitude of that "nocturnal dipping" has been used to stratify patients according to the risk for cardiovascular disease. However, in contrast to most mammals, prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) have periods of activity and rest that follow an ultradian rhythm with period lengths significantly <24h. While rhythmic changes in blood pressure across a circadian activity cycle have been well-documented, blood pressure patterns in species that display ultradian rhythms in activity are less well-studied. In the current study, we implanted pressure-sensitive radiotelemetry devices in male prairie voles and recorded activity, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) continuously for 3days. Visualization of the ultradian rhythms was enhanced using a 1h running average to filter the dataset. Positive correlations were found between activity and MAP and between activity and HR. During the inactive period of the ultradian cycle, blood pressure decreased by about 15%, which parallels the nocturnal dipping pattern seen in healthy humans. Further, the duration of inactivity did not affect any of the cardiovascular measures, so the differences in blood pressure values between the active and inactive periods are likely driven by ultradian oscillations in hormones and autonomic function. Finally, specific behavioral patterns also were examined. Both the instrumented animal and his non-instrumented cagemate appeared to show synchronized activity patterns, with both animals displaying sleep-like behavior for more than 90% of the inactive period. We propose that the prairie vole ultradian rhythm in blood pressure is an analogue for circadian blood pressure variability and can be used to study the long-term effects of commonly prescribed drugs on blood pressure dipping.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert Lewis
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, 1111 W. 17th St., Tulsa, OK 74107, United States.
| | - J Thomas Curtis
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, 1111 W. 17th St., Tulsa, OK 74107, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Gobrogge K, Wang Z. Neuropeptidergic regulation of pair-bonding and stress buffering: Lessons from voles. Horm Behav 2015; 76:91-105. [PMID: 26335886 PMCID: PMC4771484 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2015] [Revised: 08/22/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "SBN 2014". Interpersonal attachment is a critical component of the human experience. Pair-bonding ameliorates the severity of several mental and physical diseases. Thus, a better understanding of how the central nervous system responds to and encodes social-buffering during stress is a valuable research enterprise. The prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), as a laboratory animal model, provides the gold standard for the investigation of the neurobiology underlying attachment. Furthermore, emerging research in voles, additional laboratory rodents, transgenic mice, primates, and humans has provided novel insight into the neurochemical mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of social bonds reducing anxiety, depression, and drug abuse liability. In the present review, we highlight the work from this burgeoning field and focus on the role(s) of the neuropeptides oxytocin (OT), vasopressin (AVP), and corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) mediating stress buffering. Together, the data suggest that OT underlies social bonding to reduce stress-induced psychological illness while AVP and CRH facilitate arousal to enhance autonomic reactivity, increasing susceptibility to adverse mental and physical health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Gobrogge
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
| | - Zuoxin Wang
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Cauley E, Wang X, Dyavanapalli J, Sun K, Garrott K, Kuzmiak-Glancy S, Kay MW, Mendelowitz D. Neurotransmission to parasympathetic cardiac vagal neurons in the brain stem is altered with left ventricular hypertrophy-induced heart failure. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2015; 309:H1281-7. [PMID: 26371169 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00445.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Accepted: 09/03/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, and heart failure (HF) are widespread and debilitating cardiovascular diseases that affect nearly 23 million people worldwide. A distinctive hallmark of these cardiovascular diseases is autonomic imbalance, with increased sympathetic activity and decreased parasympathetic vagal tone. Recent device-based approaches, such as implantable vagal stimulators that stimulate a multitude of visceral sensory and motor fibers in the vagus nerve, are being evaluated as new therapeutic approaches for these and other diseases. However, little is known about how parasympathetic activity to the heart is altered with these diseases, and this lack of knowledge is an obstacle in the goal of devising selective interventions that can target and selectively restore parasympathetic activity to the heart. To identify the changes that occur within the brain stem to diminish the parasympathetic cardiac activity, left ventricular hypertrophy was elicited in rats by aortic pressure overload using a transaortic constriction approach. Cardiac vagal neurons (CVNs) in the brain stem that generate parasympathetic activity to the heart were identified with a retrograde tracer and studied using patch-clamp electrophysiological recordings in vitro. Animals with left cardiac hypertrophy had diminished excitation of CVNs, which was mediated both by an augmented frequency of spontaneous inhibitory GABAergic neurotransmission (with no alteration of inhibitory glycinergic activity) as well as a diminished amplitude and frequency of excitatory neurotransmission to CVNs. Opportunities to alter these network pathways and neurotransmitter receptors provide future targets of intervention in the goal to restore parasympathetic activity and autonomic balance to the heart in cardiac hypertrophy and other cardiovascular diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Edmund Cauley
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia; and
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia; and
| | - Jhansi Dyavanapalli
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia; and
| | - Ke Sun
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia; and
| | - Kara Garrott
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Sarah Kuzmiak-Glancy
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Matthew W Kay
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - David Mendelowitz
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia; and
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
McGuire MC, Williams KL, Welling LLM, Vonk J. Cognitive bias in rats is not influenced by oxytocin. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1306. [PMID: 26388811 PMCID: PMC4557065 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The effect of oxytocin on cognitive bias was investigated in rats in a modified conditioned place preference paradigm. Fifteen male rats were trained to discriminate between two different cue combinations, one paired with palatable foods (reward training), and the other paired with unpalatable food (aversive training). Next, their reactions to two ambiguous cue combinations were evaluated and their latency to contact the goal pot recorded. Rats were injected with either oxytocin (OT) or saline with the prediction that rats administered OT would display a shorter average latency to approach on ambiguous trials. There was no significant difference between latencies to approach on ambiguous trials compared to reward trials, but the rats were significantly slower on the aversive compared to the ambiguous conditions. Oxytocin did not affect approach time; however, it was unclear, after follow-up testing, whether the OT doses tested were sufficient to produce the desired effects on cognitive bias. Future research should consider this possibility.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Molly C McGuire
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Keith L Williams
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Lisa L M Welling
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Jennifer Vonk
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
|
45
|
Oxytocin mechanisms of stress response and aggression in a territorial finch. Physiol Behav 2015; 141:154-63. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2014] [Revised: 01/12/2015] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
|
46
|
Cacioppo S, Grippo AJ, London S, Goossens L, Cacioppo JT. Loneliness: clinical import and interventions. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 10:238-49. [PMID: 25866548 PMCID: PMC4391342 DOI: 10.1177/1745691615570616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 609] [Impact Index Per Article: 67.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In 1978, when the Task Panel report to the US President's Commission on Mental Health emphasized the importance of improving health care and easing the pain of those suffering from emotional distress syndromes including loneliness, few anticipated that this issue would still need to be addressed 40 years later. A meta-analysis (Masi et al., 2011) on the efficacy of treatments to reduce loneliness identified a need for well-controlled randomized clinical trials focusing on the rehabilitation of maladaptive social cognition. We review assessments of loneliness and build on this meta-analysis to discuss the efficacy of various treatments for loneliness. With the advances made over the past 5 years in the identification of the psychobiological and pharmaceutical mechanisms associated with loneliness and maladaptive social cognition, there is increasing evidence for the potential efficacy of integrated interventions that combine (social) cognitive behavioral therapy with short-term adjunctive pharmacological treatments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Cacioppo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago ; HPEN Laboratory, Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, The University of Chicago
| | | | - Sarah London
- HPEN Laboratory, Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, The University of Chicago ; Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago
| | - Luc Goossens
- School of Psychology and Child and Adolescent Development, KU Leuven - University of Leuven
| | - John T Cacioppo
- HPEN Laboratory, Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, The University of Chicago ; Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Visualization of oxytocin release that mediates paired pulse facilitation in hypothalamic pathways to brainstem autonomic neurons. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112138. [PMID: 25379676 PMCID: PMC4224401 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2014] [Accepted: 10/13/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent work has shown that oxytocin is involved in more than lactation and uterine contraction. The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) contains neuroendocrine neurons that control the release of hormones, including vasopressin and oxytocin. Other populations of PVN neurons do not release hormones, but rather project to and release neurotransmitters onto other neurons in the CNS involved in fluid retention, thermoregulation, sexual behavior and responses to stress. Activation of oxytocin receptors can be cardioprotective and reduces the adverse cardiovascular consequences of anxiety and stress, yet how oxytocin can affect heart rate and cardiac function is unknown. While anatomical work has shown the presence of peptides, including oxytocin, in the projections from the PVN to parasympathetic nuclei, electrophysiological studies to date have only demonstrated release of glutamate and activation of fast ligand gated receptors in these pathways. In this study, using rats, we directly show, using sniffer CHO cells that express oxytocin receptors and the Ca2+ indicator R-GECO, that optogenetic activation of channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) expressing PVN fibers in the brainstem activates oxytocin receptors in the dorsomotor nucleus of the vagus (DMNV). We also demonstrate that while a single photoactivation of PVN terminals only activates glutamatergic receptors in brainstem cardiac vagal neurons (CVNs), neurons that dominate the neural control of heart rate, both the paired pulse facilitation, and sustained enhancement of glutamate release in this pathway is mediated by activation of oxytocin receptors. Our results provide direct evidence that a pathway from the PVN likely releases oxytocin and enhances short-term plasticity of this critical autonomic connection.
Collapse
|
48
|
Kelly AM, Goodson JL. Social functions of individual vasopressin-oxytocin cell groups in vertebrates: what do we really know? Front Neuroendocrinol 2014; 35:512-29. [PMID: 24813923 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2014.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2013] [Revised: 04/18/2014] [Accepted: 04/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Vasopressin-oxytocin (VP-OT) nonapeptides modulate numerous social and stress-related behaviors, yet these peptides are made in multiple nuclei and brain regions (e.g., >20 in some mammals), and VP-OT cells in these areas often exhibit overlapping axonal projections. Furthermore, the magnocellular cell groups release peptide volumetrically from dendrites and soma, which gives rise to paracrine modulation in distal brain areas. Nonapeptide receptors also tend to be promiscuous. Hence, behavioral effects that are mediated by any given receptor type (e.g., the OT receptor) in a target brain region cannot be conclusively attributed to either VP or OT, nor to a specific cell group. We here review what is actually known about the social behavior functions of nonapeptide cell groups, with a focus on aggression, affiliation, bonding, social stress, and parental behavior, and discuss recent studies that demonstrate a diversity of sex-specific contributions of VP-OT cell groups to gregariousness and pair bonding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aubrey M Kelly
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - James L Goodson
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Ellenbogen MA, Linnen AM, Cardoso C, Joober R. Intranasal oxytocin attenuates the human acoustic startle response independent of emotional modulation. Psychophysiology 2014; 51:1169-77. [PMID: 25082371 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2013] [Accepted: 05/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Oxytocin promotes social affiliation in humans. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon require further elucidation. The present study investigated the influence of intranasal oxytocin on basic emotional processing in men and women, using an emotion-modulated startle response paradigm. Eighty-four participants self-administered 24 IU of intranasal oxytocin or saline and completed an assessment of the acoustic startle reflex, using electromyography (EMG), with varying emotional foregrounds. Oxytocin had no impact on the affective modulation of the startle eye blink response, but significantly diminished the acoustic startle reflex irrespective of the emotional foreground. The results suggest that oxytocin facilitates prosocial behavior, in part, by attenuating basic physiological arousal. The dampening effect of oxytocin on EMG startle could possibly be used as an inexpensive marker of oxytocin's effect on limbic brain circuits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Ellenbogen
- Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Sun P, Smith AS, Lei K, Liu Y, Wang Z. Breaking bonds in male prairie vole: long-term effects on emotional and social behavior, physiology, and neurochemistry. Behav Brain Res 2014; 265:22-31. [PMID: 24561258 DOI: 10.%201016/j.bbr.2014.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2013] [Revised: 02/11/2014] [Accepted: 02/13/2014] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Social relationships are essential for many fundamental aspects of life while bond disruption can be detrimental to mental and physical health. Male prairie voles form enduring social bonds with their female partners, allowing the evaluation of partner loss on behavior, physiology, and neurochemistry. Males were evaluated for partner preference formation induced by 24h of mating, and half were separated from their partner for 4 wk. In Experiment 1, partner loss significantly increased anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze and light-dark box tests and marginally increased depressive-like behaviors in the forced swim test. In addition, while intruder-directed aggression is common in pair bonded prairie voles, separated males were affiliative and lacked aggression toward an unfamiliar female and an intruding male conspecific. Partner loss increased the density of oxytocin-immunoreactivity (-ir), vasopressin-ir, and corticotrophin-releasing hormone-ir cells in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and oxytocin-ir cells in the supraoptic nucleus. Tyrosine hydroxylase-ir was not affected. In Experiment 2, partner preference was observed after 2 wk of partner loss but eliminated after 4 wk partner loss. Body weight gain and plasma corticosterone concentrations were elevated throughout the 4 wk. No effects were observed for plasma oxytocin or vasopressin. Together, partner loss elicits anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors, disrupts bond-related behaviors, and alters neuropeptide systems that regulate such behaviors. Thus, partner loss in male prairie voles may provide a model to better understand the behavior, pathology, and neurobiology underlying partner loss and grief.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- P Sun
- Animal Academy of Scientific and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, China; Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | - A S Smith
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | - K Lei
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | - Y Liu
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | - Z Wang
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
| |
Collapse
|