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Query: UNIPROT:P01178 (oxytocin)
 15,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

1. Intracellular current clamp recordings were performed from identified oxytocin (OT) neurones in acute hypothalamic slices taken from lactating Wistar rats at early (5th day: LD-5) and late (21st day: LD-21) lactation. 2. The basic electrophysiological properties of LD-21 OT neurones differed from those of LD-5 OT neurones: their resting membrane potential was more depolarised (-51.5 versus -54.9 mV); their action potential duration was longer (1.6 versus 1.2 ms); their hyperpolarising after-potential (HAP) following single spikes and after-hyperpolarisation (AHP) following a burst of action potentials had smaller amplitudes (-46 and -67 %, respectively); and they lacked spike frequency adaptation during a burst. 3. In LD-21 neurones bath application of 17beta-oestradiol (10-7 M, 6-14 min) reversibly restored all these properties to values observed in LD-5 cells. This treatment had no effect on LD-5 neurones. 4. LD-21 neurones were less sensitive to kainate than LD-5 neurones. 17beta-Oestradiol significantly potentiated the kainate-induced response in LD-21, but not in LD-5 neurones. 5. The effects of 17beta-oestradiol were presumably mediated through a non-genomic mechanism since they occurred within a few minutes of administration, and disappeared within 30-40 min of washout. They were not inhibited by tamoxifen, an antagonist of the nuclear oestrogen receptor ER-alpha. Lastly, cholesterol, a non-active lipophilic molecule, had no effect. 6. Our observations demonstrate that, in the absence of 17beta-oestradiol, the basic electrical properties and sensitivity to kainate of OT neurones become altered between early and late lactation. However, the rise in circulating levels of oestrogens during the late phase of lactation may contribute to maintain OT neurone reactivity as long as suckling continues.
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PMID:17-Oestradiol modulates in vitro electrical properties and responses to kainate of oxytocin neurones in lactating rats. 1076 12

The neuropeptide oxytocin has been shown to affect social interaction. Meanwhile, the underlying mechanism remains highly debated. Using an interpersonal finger-tapping paradigm, we investigated whether oxytocin affects the ability to synchronise with and adapt to the behaviour of others. Dyads received either oxytocin or a non-active placebo, intranasally. We show that in conditions where one dyad-member was tapping to another unresponsive dyad-member - i.e. one was following another who was leading/self-pacing - dyads given oxytocin were more synchronised than dyads given placebo. However, there was no effect when following a regular metronome or when both tappers were mutually adapting to each other. Furthermore, relative to their self-paced tapping partners, oxytocin followers were less variable than placebo followers. Our data suggests that oxytocin improves synchronisation to an unresponsive partner's behaviour through a reduction in tapping-variability. Hence, oxytocin may facilitate social interaction by enhancing sensorimotor predictions supporting interpersonal synchronisation. The study thus provides novel perspectives on how neurobiological processes relate to socio-psychological behaviour and contributes to the growing evidence that synchronisation and prediction are central to social cognition.
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PMID:Oxytocin improves synchronisation in leader-follower interaction. 2792