Impaired oxytocin signaling in the central amygdala in rats with chronic heart failure.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Heart failure (HF) patients often suffer from cognitive decline, depression, and mood impairments, but the molecular signals and brain circuits underlying these effects remain elusive. The hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is critically involved in the regulation of mood, and OTergic signaling in the central amygdala (CeA) is a key mechanism controlling emotional responses including anxiety-like behaviors. Based on this, we used in this study a well-established ischemic rat HF model and aimed to study alterations in the hypothalamus-to-CeA OTergic circuit.

Methods and results

To study potential HF-induced changes in the hypothalamus-to-CeA OTertic circuit, we combined patch-clamp electrophysiology, immunohistochemical analysis, RNAScope assessment of OTR mRNA, bra

SUBMITTER: Althammer F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10690294 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature