Neuroanatomical and functional consequences of oxytocin treatment at birth in prairie voles.

ABSTRACT: Birth is a critical period for the developing brain, a time when surging hormone levels help prepare the fetal brain for the tremendous physiological changes it must accomplish upon entry into the 'extrauterine world'. A number of obstetrical conditions warrant manipulations of these hormones at the time of birth, but we know little of their possible consequences on the developing brain. One of the most notable birth signaling hormones is oxytocin, which is administered to roughly 50% of laboring women in the United States prior to / during delivery. Previously, we found evidence for behavioral, epigenetic, and neuroendocrine consequences in adult prairie vole offspring following maternal oxytocin treatment immediately prior to birth. Here, we examined the neurodevelopmental consequences i

SUBMITTER: Kenkel WM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10064488 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature