Acute oxytocin improves memory and gaze following in male but not female nursery-reared infant macaques.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Exogenous oxytocin administration is widely reported to improve social cognition in human and nonhuman primate adults. Risk factors of impaired social cognition, however, emerge in infancy. Early interventions-when plasticity is greatest-are critical to reverse negative outcomes.

Objective

We tested the hypothesis that oxytocin may exert similar positive effects on infant social cognition, as in adults. To test this idea, we assessed the effectiveness of acute, aerosolized oxytocin on two foundational social cognitive skills: working memory (i.e., ability to briefly hold and process information) and social gaze (i.e., tracking the direction of others' gaze) in 1-month-old nursery-reared macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta). We did not predict sex differences, but we in

SUBMITTER: Simpson EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5226861 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature