Oxytocin receptors are widely distributed in the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) brain: Relation to social behavior, genetic polymorphisms, and the dopamine system.

ABSTRACT: Oxytocin regulates social behavior via direct modulation of neurons, regulation of neural network activity, and interaction with other neurotransmitter systems. The behavioral effects of oxytocin signaling are determined by the species-specific distribution of brain oxytocin receptors. The socially monogamous prairie vole has been a useful model organism for elucidating the role of oxytocin in social behaviors, including pair bonding, response to social loss, and consoling. However, there has been no comprehensive mapping of oxytocin receptor-expressing cells throughout the prairie vole brain. Here, we employed a highly sensitive in situ hybridization, RNAscope, to construct an exhaustive, brain-wide map of oxytocin receptor mRNA-expressing cells. We found that oxytocin receptor mRNA expre

SUBMITTER: Inoue K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9474670 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature