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

Colchicine blockade of axonal transport from the paraventricular nucleus to the median eminence was used to indirectly infer ACTH secretagog release in response to the psychological stressors of social interactions and various degrees of novelty. Placing a rat in a new cage with either the smell or presence of a novel conspecific decreased arginine vasopressin and oxytocin (OT) contents, but not corticotropin-releasing factor content. Secretagog contents were unchanged in rats in their home cages faced with a novel conspecific. Secretagog release during social stress is thus primarily a function of being in a novel setting. For different degrees of novelty, rats were placed in either a novel cage, a novel bucket, or a novel bucket smelling of another rat. Whereas secretagog contents were unchanged with a novel cage, OT content alone decreased in response to both the bucket and the unclean bucket. Despite a graded corticosterone response, there was no distinction in the OT response, suggesting that the colchicine technique cannot accurately reflect gradations of stressors.
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PMID:Patterns of adrenocorticotropin secretagog release in response to social interactions and various degrees of novelty. 789 37

In several studies lactation has been shown to be associated with a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyporesponsiveness to physical and psychological stressors. As it is not known whether the marked blunting of endocrine stress reactivity in women can be ascribed to suckling as a short-term effect or to lactation in general, the acute effects of suckling on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system responses to mental stress were investigated in lactating women. Forty-three lactating women were randomly assigned either to breast-feed or to hold their infants for a 15-min period with the onset 30 min before they were exposed to a brief psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Both breast-feeding and holding the infant yielded significant decreases in ACTH, total plasma cortisol, and salivary free cortisol (all P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in baseline hormone levels between the groups 1 min before the stress test. In response to stress exposure, ACTH, total plasma cortisol, salivary free cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine were significantly increased in all lactating women (all P < 0.001). However, total cortisol and free cortisol responses to stress were attenuated in breast-feeding women (P = 0.001 and P = 0.067, respectively), who also showed significantly decreasing PRL levels during the stress test (P = 0.005). In addition, there was no change in plasma oxytocin or vasopressin in response to the stressor. Breast-feeding as well as holding led to decreased anxiety (P < 0.05), whereas, in contrast, stress exposure worsened mood, calmness, and anxiety in the total group (all P < 0.001). From these data we conclude that lactation in women, in contrast to that in rats, does not result in a general restraint of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to a psychosocial stressor. Rather, suckling is suggested to exert a short-term suppression of the cortisol response to mental stress.
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PMID:Effects of suckling on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to psychosocial stress in postpartum lactating women. 1160 May 43

We previously found stress-reduction in rats exposed to an oxytocin-injected cage-mate. Olfactory impairment and oxytocin antagonist treatment blocked the effect. Here, we investigated effects of social stress on the exposure-induced response and exposure on amygdaloid oxytocin concentrations. CT concentrations in exposed olfactorily impaired, CT antagonist-treated and saline-injected unexposed rats were reduced, compared to the significantly higher level in untreated and exposed saline-injected rats. Saline injections and group mixing enhanced heat dissipation. Exposure abolished the injection-induced, but not mixing-induced stress response, most likely via a social stress induced effect on the oxytocin-injected rat. The difference in exposure responsivity may relate to recognition, stress type and intensity affecting different stress-response systems. The mechanism could reinforce social attachment.
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PMID:Social stress blocks energy conservation in rats exposed to an oxytocin-injected cage mate. 1216 65

The hormonal interactions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian-uterine axis are accountable for a normal reproduction in female pigs. It is of importance to have knowledge of estrous symptoms and hormonal profiles around ovulation. The introduction of the transrectal ultrasonography in sows has given us the possibility to study ovarian activity in conscious animals and relate the timing of estrus to ovulation. Combining this technique with measuring of several hormones like luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), inhibin, estradiol, progesterone, insulin-like growth hormone I (IGF-I), prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) metabolite, oxytocin, facilitate our knowledge about the sequence of ovarian events. Evidence suggests that activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may hamper the normal gonadotropin secretion and in consequence, the ovarian function. The metabolic status during lactation, weaning of piglets and social stress might affect onset of ovarian activity and the related estrous behavior. The role of seminal plasma, artificial insemination and presence of the boar might also be included as factors regulating the temporal kinetics of ovulation, corpus luteum development, uterine function and steroid production in the ovary. Studies using a simulated stress by means of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) administration or food deprivation are tools in understanding how the ovary is susceptible to impairment. The intention of this paper is to review current knowledge concerning the endocrine aspects of normal and stress-influenced ovarian function in pigs.
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PMID:Factors regulating ovarian function in pigs. 1599 3

In animal studies, positive social interaction and physical contact play a preeminent role in the control of behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress. The aim of this study was to determine whether specific kinds of couple interaction reduce hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and autonomic responses to psychosocial stress in women. Sixty-seven women, aged 20-37 years, who had been married or cohabiting with a male partner for at least 12 months at the time of the study, were exposed to a standardized psychosocial laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Participants were randomly assigned to three study groups differing in the type of a 10-min period of social interaction with their partner prior to stress: n=25 with no partner interaction, n=22 with verbal social support, and n=20 with physical contact (standardized neck and shoulder massage). Salivary free cortisol levels, plasma levels of oxytocin, heart rate, and psychological responses to stress were compared among the three study groups. Women with positive physical partner contact before stress exhibited significantly lower cortisol and heart rate responses to stress but no different plasma oxytocin levels compared to women who received social support or no social interaction. Verbal social support alone was not associated with reduced stress responsiveness. Our results are in line with previous human studies indicating reduced responsiveness to verbal social support by a spouse in women. More importantly, these findings imply a direct protective effect of touch on stress-related neurobiological systems as a possible underlying mechanism of health beneficial effects of positive couple interaction.
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PMID:Effects of different kinds of couple interaction on cortisol and heart rate responses to stress in women. 1749 41

The fundamental ability to form attachment is indispensable for human social relationships. Impairments in social behaviour are associated with decreased quality of life and psychopathological states. In non-human mammals, the neuropeptides oxytocin (OXT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are key mediators of complex social behaviours, including attachment, social recognition and aggression. In particular, OXT reduces behavioural and neuroendocrine responses to social stress and seems both to enable animals to overcome their natural avoidance of proximity and to inhibit defensive behaviour, thereby facilitating approach behaviour. AVP has primarily been implicated in male-typical social behaviours, including aggression and pair-bond formation, and mediates anxiogenic effects. Initial studies in humans suggest behavioural, neural, and endocrine effects of both neuropeptides, similar to those found in animal studies. This review focuses on advances made to date in the effort to understand the role of OXT and AVP in human social behaviour. First, the literature on OXT and AVP and their involvement in social stress and anxiety, social cognition, social approach, and aggression is reviewed. Second, we discuss clinical implications for mental disorders that are associated with social deficits (e.g. autism spectrum disorder, borderline personality disorder). Finally, a model of the interactions of anxiety and stress, social approach behaviour, and the oxytocinergic system is presented, which integrates the novel approach of a psychobiological therapy in psychopathological states.
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PMID:Neuropeptides and social behaviour: effects of oxytocin and vasopressin in humans. 1865 94

Increasing evidence suggests that two nonapeptides, arginine vasopressin and oxytocin, shape human social behavior in both nonclinical and clinical subjects. Evidence is discussed that in autism spectrum disorders genetic polymorphisms in the vasopressin-oxytocin pathway, notably the arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (AVPR1a), the oxytocin receptor (OXTR), neurophysin I and II, and CD38 (recently shown to be critical for social behavior by mediating oxytocin secretion) contribute to deficits in socialization skills in this group of patients. We also present first evidence that CD38 expression in lymphoblastoid cells derived from subjects diagnosed with autism is correlated with social skill phenotype inventoried by the Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scales. Additionally, we discuss molecular genetic evidence that in nonclinical subjects both AVPR1a and OXTR genes contribute to prosocial or altruistic behavior inventoried by two experimental paradigms, the dictator game and social values orientation. The role of the AVPR1a is also analyzed in prepulse inhibition. Prepulse inhibition of the startle response to auditory stimuli is a largely autonomic response that resonates with social cognition in both animal models and humans. First results are presented showing that intranasal administration of arginine vasopressin increases salivary cortisol levels in the Trier Social Stress test. To summarize, accumulating studies employing a broad array of cutting-edge tools in psychology, neuroeconomics, molecular genetics, pharmacology, electrophysiology, and brain imaging are beginning to elaborate the intriguing role of oxytocin and arginine vasopressin in human social behavior. We expect that future studies will continue this advance and deepen our understanding of these complex events.
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PMID:Arginine vasopressin and oxytocin modulate human social behavior. 1958 May 56

Long-term implications of the exposure to traumatizing experiences during childhood or adolescence, such as sexual abuse, or cancer, have been documented, namely the subjects' response to an acute stress in adulthood. Several indicators of the stress response have been considered (e.g. cortisol, heart rate). Oxytocin (OT) response to an acute stress of individuals exposed to trauma has not been documented. Eighty subjects (n=26 women who had experienced episodes of child abuse, n=25 men and women healthy survivors of cancer in childhood or adolescence, and 29 controls) have been submitted to a laboratory session involving an experimental stress challenge, the Trier social stress test. Overall, there was a clear OT response to the psychosocial challenge. Subjects having experienced a childhood/adolescence life-threatening illness had higher mean levels of OT than both abused and control subjects. There was a moderate negative relationship between OT and salivary cortisol. It is suggested that an acute stress stimulates OT secretion, and that the exposure to enduring life-threatening experiences in childhood/adolescence has long-lasting consequences regarding the stress system and connected functions, namely the activation of OT secretion. Better knowledge of such long-term implications is important so that to prevent dysregulations of the stress responses, which have been shown to be associated to the individual's mental health.
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PMID:Oxytocin response to an experimental psychosocial challenge in adults exposed to traumatic experiences during childhood or adolescence. 2001 29

The hormone and neuropeptide oxytocin is believed to buffer against social stress and reduce social-threat perception. We employed a widely used ostracism paradigm, Cyberball, to investigate whether oxytocin ameliorated the acute behavioral and affective consequences of social rejection. In a double-blind, randomized, between-subjects design, 74 healthy male and female participants were administered intranasal oxytocin or placebo and subsequently ostracized or included during this virtual ball-tossing game. Ostracized participants reported negative affective and attachment-related reactions, as well as a significant motivational change in increased desire to be involved in the game; these effects were not influenced by oxytocin. Intranasal oxytocin did, however, increase included participants' desire to play again with the same participants, suggesting oxytocin enhanced desire for future social engagement following inclusion. These findings are argued to provide evidence that the effects of oxytocin in promoting social approach behavior may be context specific and sensitive to positive social cues. The results suggest that in an explicitly aversive context, oxytocin does not buffer against the immediate impact of blunt social rejection.
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PMID:Acute effects of intranasal oxytocin on subjective and behavioral responses to social rejection. 2069 87

Chronic social stress in rodents produces behavioral and neuroendocrine patterns analogous to symptoms associated with psychopathologies in humans. Chronic social defeat in mice has been used to study the genetic and epigenetic precursors of stress-related social disorders. The neuropeptides arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) are released in central targets to modulate anti- and pro-social behaviors, respectively. AVP binds to V1a and V1b receptors (V1bRs) in discrete brain regions related to anxiety, depression and affiliative behaviors. Recent evidence suggests that V1bRs are involved in stress and anxiety and may be an attractive target for the treatment of associated disorders. In the present series of experiments, we aimed to evaluate the effects of chronic social defeat stress on: 1) anxiety-related behaviors in a social investigation paradigm and their potential modulation by an acute dose of SSR149415, a V1bR antagonist; 2) AVP and Fos protein levels in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and; 3) AVP- and OT-receptor (OTR) mRNA levels in brain regions associated with sociality. When compared to undefeated animals, socially defeated mice exhibited an anxiogenic behavioral profile towards a novel male conspecific, with SSR149415 partly attenuating these effects. Histochemistry using immunofluorescence showed defeat produced significant elevations of Fos and double labeling of AVP and Fos proteins in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). SSR149415 attenuated the effects of defeat on Fos and AVP/Fos double labeling, consistent with an anxiolytic effect. Defeated mice showed elevated levels of OTR mRNA levels in the lateral septum (LS) in addition to increased V1bR and OTR mRNA in the medial amygdala (MeA). We suggest the involvement of V1bRs and OTRs in a circuit involving the PVN, MeA and LS in the effects of defeat on sociality. SSR149415 attenuated anxiogenesis in the social investigation model and both Fos and AVP/Fos labeling, suggesting V1bRs are an attractive target for the treatment of anxiety in general and disorders of sociality in particular.
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PMID:Effects of chronic social defeat on behavioral and neural correlates of sociality: Vasopressin, oxytocin and the vasopressinergic V1b receptor. 2139 19


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