Navigating Central Oxytocin Transport: Known Realms and Uncharted Territories.

ABSTRACT: Complex mechanisms govern the transport and action of oxytocin (Oxt), a neuropeptide and hormone that mediates diverse physiologic processes. While Oxt exerts site-specific and rapid effects in the brain via axonal and somatodendritic release, volume transmission via CSF and the neurovascular interface can act as an additional mechanism to distribute Oxt signals across distant brain regions on a slower timescale. This review focuses on modes of Oxt transport and action in the CNS, with particular emphasis on the roles of perivascular spaces, the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and circumventricular organs in coordinating the triadic interaction among circulating blood, CSF, and parenchyma. Perivascular spaces, critical conduits for CSF flow, play a pivotal role in Oxt diffusion and distribution

SUBMITTER: Parmaksiz D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12103645 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature