Role of oxytocin in the ventral tegmental area in social reinforcement.

ABSTRACT: The rewarding properties of social interactions play a critical role in the development and maintenance of social relationships, and deficits in social reward are associated with various psychiatric disorders. In the present study, we used a novel Operant Social Preference (OSP) task to investigate the reinforcing properties of social interactions under conditions of high or low reward value, and high or low behavioral effort in male Syrian hamsters. Further, we investigated the role of oxytocin (OT) in a key structure of the mesolimbic reward system, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), in mediating the reinforcing properties of social interaction. Adult male hamsters were placed in a three-chambered apparatus, and allowed access to either a social chamber containing an unrestrained conspeci

SUBMITTER: Borland JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6109598 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature