Oxytocin Manipulation Alters Neural Activity in Response to Social Stimuli in Eusocial Naked Mole-Rats.

ABSTRACT: The social decision-making network (SDMN) is a conserved neural circuit that modulates a range of social behaviors via context-specific patterns of activation that may be controlled in part by oxytocinergic signaling. We have previously characterized oxytocin's (OT) influence on prosociality in the naked mole-rat, a eusocial mammalian species, and its altered neural distribution between animals of differing social status. Here, we asked two questions: (1) do patterns of activation in the SDMN vary by social context and (2) is functional connectivity of the SDMN altered by OT manipulation? Adult subordinate naked mole-rats were exposed to one of three types of stimuli (three behavioral paradigms: familiar adult conspecific, unfamiliar adult conspecific, or familiar pups) while manipulating

SUBMITTER: Faykoo-Martinez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6255855 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature