Raphe serotonin neuron-specific oxytocin receptor knockout reduces aggression without affecting anxiety-like behavior in male mice only.

ABSTRACT: Serotonin and oxytocin influence aggressive and anxiety-like behaviors, though it is unclear how the two may interact. That the oxytocin receptor is expressed in the serotonergic raphe nuclei suggests a mechanism by which the two neurotransmitters may cooperatively influence behavior. We hypothesized that oxytocin acts on raphe neurons to influence serotonergically mediated anxiety-like, aggressive and parental care behaviors. We eliminated expression of the oxytocin receptor in raphe neurons by crossing mice expressing Cre recombinase under control of the serotonin transporter promoter (Slc6a4) with our conditional oxytocin receptor knockout line. The knockout mice generated by this cross are normal across a range of behavioral measures: there are no effects for either sex on locomotion i

SUBMITTER: Pagani JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4536906 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature