Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01185 (vasopressin)
 23,126 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The use of vasopressin to limit the polyuria of the brain-dead organ donor is a controversial subject. It is held that the associated vasoconstriction may result in ischemic damage to transplantable organs. However, the derangements in the intravascular--and thereby interstitial and intracellular--fluid and electrolyte balances associated with diabetes insipidus may lead to gross fluid shifts in the organ donor. Aggressive resuscitation with crystalloid solutions may aggravate these fluid shifts, contribute to the development of interstitial and intracellular edema, and ultimately result in cardiovascular failure and the rejection of the organs for transplantation. Theoretically, a minute amount of vasopressin is required for the maintenance of normal intravascular fluid and electrolyte balance, and it is best administered as a continuous i.v. infusion. We report on our study of an animal model of a brain-dead organ donor, in which polyuria, hypernatremia, and hyperosmolality developed. The administration of low-dose (2-10 microU/kg/min) vasopressin by continuous infusion maintained plasma sodium and osmolality in the normal range over the course of the experiments (24 hr) in the experimental group. Cardiovascular function remained stable in both control and experimental vasopressin-infusion) groups, with the only significant difference being a moderate rise in pulmonary artery pressure. It would appear that early low-dose vasopressin supplementation by continuous i.v. infusion may improve donor management. The maintenance of intravascular homeostasis may contribute to the quality and number of organs for transplantation.
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PMID:Vasopressin supplementation in a porcine model of brain-dead potential organ donors. 649 67

Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are described here as a model system in which it is possible to examine, within the context of natural history, the proximate processes regulating the social and reproductive behaviors that characterize a monogamous social system. Neuropeptides, including oxytocin and vasopressin, and the adrenal glucocorticoid, corticosterone, have been implicated in the neural regulation of partner preferences, and in the male, vasopressin has been implicated in the induction of selective aggression toward strangers. We hypothesize here that interactions among oxytocin, vasopressin and glucocorticoids could provide substrates for dynamic changes in social and agonistic behaviors, including those required in the development and expression of monogamy. Results from research with voles suggest that the behaviors characteristics of monogamy, including social attachments and biparental care, may be modified by hormones during development and may be regulated by different mechanisms in males and females.
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PMID:Physiological substrates of mammalian monogamy: the prairie vole model. 763 May 84

Central vasopressin pathways have been implicated in the mediation of paternal behavior, selective aggression, and affiliation in monogamous prairie voles. Here we demonstrate markedly different patterns of brain vasopressin receptor binding in the monogamous prairie vole and the congeneric nonmonogamous (promiscuous) montane vole. Vasopressin binding was assessed with both 3H-vasopressin and 125I-sarc-AVP using receptor autoradiography. The specificity of binding was consistent with a V1a receptor, the saturation kinetics were similar in the two species, and neither species showed evidence of sexual dimorphisms. In the prairie vole, highest specific binding was observed in the accessory olfactory bulb, diagonal band, laterodorsal thalamus, and superior colliculus. In the montane vole, specific binding was observed in the accessory olfactory bulb and superior colliculus as well, but in several other regions with high levels of binding in the prairie vole, binding was low or undetectable in the montane vole. In this nonmonogamous species, specific binding was high in lateral septum. Functional studies demonstrated the induction of phosphoinositol by AVP in the septum of the montane vole but not in the prairie vole. The pattern of 125I-sarc-AVP binding to lateral septum may reflect the social organization of these two species, as similar differences in AVP receptor distribution in the lateral septum were also observed in two related species, pine voles and meadow voles, which are monogamous and nonmonogamous, respectively. These results, along with earlier studies of AVP's effects on pair bonding, suggest the importance of this neuropeptide for the mediation of behaviors related to social organization.
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PMID:Patterns of brain vasopressin receptor distribution associated with social organization in microtine rodents. 808 43

The neurohypophyseal peptide hormone oxytocin functions as a neuropeptide in several brain areas in addition to its role as a posterior pituitary hormone. Several studies have determined significant differences in patterns of oxytocin receptor binding in the brains of two closely related species of vole. One of the defining features of these two species is remarkably different reproductive behavior strategies. The prairie vole forms long-term monogamous relationships; the montane vole is polygamous. One potential measure of the formation of a pair bond in prairie voles is the development of intense aggressive behavior directed at male conspecifics following a mating bout. Oxytocin had little effect on aggressive behavior when administered before mating but had profound effects on the aggression of male prairie voles when administered after mating. Oxytocin had relatively modest effects on the behavior of montane voles, and neither the behavior nor the peptide effects were affected by mating experience. The data indicate that differences in peptide binding in these two species of vole may be functionally related to difference in social behavior.
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PMID:Oxytocin and complex social behavior: species comparisons. 812 69

Monogamous social organization is characterized by selective affiliation with a partner, high levels of paternal behaviour and, in many species, intense aggression towards strangers for defence of territory, nest and mate. Although much has been written about the evolutionary causes of monogamy, little is known about the proximate mechanisms for pair bonding in monogamous mammals. The prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster, is a monogamous, biparental rodent which exhibits long-term pair bonds characterized by selective affiliation (partner preference) and aggression. Here we describe the rapid development of both selective aggression and partner preferences following mating in the male of this species. We hypothesized that either arginine-vasopressin (AVP) or oxytocin (OT), two nine-amino-acid neuropeptides with diverse forebrain projections, could mediate the development of selective aggression and affiliation. This hypothesis was based on the following observations: (1) monogamous and polygamous voles differ specifically in the distribution of forebrain AVP and OT receptors; (2) AVP innervation in the prairie vole brain is sexually dimorphic and important for paternal behaviour; (3) central AVP pathways have been previously implicated in territorial displays and social memory; and (4) central OT pathways have been previously implicated in affiliative behaviours. We now demonstrate that central AVP is both necessary and sufficient for selective aggression and partner preference formation, two critical features of pair bonding in the monogamous prairie vole.
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PMID:A role for central vasopressin in pair bonding in monogamous prairie voles. 841 8

In golden hamsters, vasopressin (AVP) microinjected within the ventrolateral hypothalamus (VLH) facilitates offensive aggression. As serotonin is known to inhibit offensive aggression, we decided to test whether AVP-facilitated behavior is also inhibited by serotonin treatment. Testosterone-treated male golden hamsters received IP injections of fluoxetine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, or vehicle 1 h prior to AVP microinjections within the VLH. The animals were tested for offensive aggression in a resident-intruder model after the microinjections, and the results were compared between groups. Pretreatment with fluoxetine inhibited AVP-facilitated offensive aggression. Only one out of nine fluoxetine-treated animals attacked and bit the intruders, compared to six out of seven vehicle-treated animals. Furthermore, we also confirmed by in vitro autoradiography that the VLH contains vasopressin V(1) and serotonin 5-HT1B receptors. Therefore, it is possible that serotonin may inhibit AVP-facilitated offensive aggression by acting directly at the level of the VLH as well as at other sites.
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PMID:Serotonin blocks vasopressin-facilitated offensive aggression: interactions within the ventrolateral hypothalamus of golden hamsters. 877 71

In many species, testosterone treatment facilitates offensive aggression tested in resident-intruder models. As the mechanisms of action of testosterone remain unclear, we hypothesized that testosterone interacts with neurotransmitter systems involved in the regulation of offensive aggression. We tested this hypothesis with the vasopressinergic system in golden hamsters in three separate experiments. First, we compared the density of V1 vasopressin (VAP) receptor binding between castrated animals treated with testosterone and their untreated controls. The most noticeable difference was found within the ventrolateral hypothalamus (VLH), a site involved in the control of aggression in several species of mammals. Within this area, V1 AVP receptor binding disappeared after castration, while being maintained by testosterone-treatment. Second, we tested behavioral effects of AVP within the VLH. Microinjections of AVP (100 nl, 1 or 100 microM) within the VLH accelerated the onset of offensive aggression in testosterone-treated animals. However, AVP-injected animals did not bite more than their vehicle-injected controls. Third, microinjections of AVP failed to activate offensive aggression in animals deprived of testosterone. As AVP receptors appeared to overlay previously described distributions of androgen and estrogen receptors in golden hamsters, we propose that testosterone facilitates the onset of offensive aggression, at least partly, through an activation of AVP receptors within the VLH.
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PMID:Testosterone facilitates aggression by modulating vasopressin receptors in the hypothalamus. 880 38

During sexual behavior in the male rat, peptidergic cells in the medial amygdaloid nucleus become active and release a vasopressin-like peptide. The present experiments were designed to examine hippocampal changes as a result of this peptide's action during sexual behaviors. Chronic field-potential recordings from the hippocampus of male rats were acquired in a wide variety of social and nonsocial circumstances. Hippocampal responses that resemble the known action of the vasopressin-like peptide were seen only with social stimuli such as sexual stimuli and stimuli that led to aggressive behavior between males. The results show that the occasions of peptide action in the hippocampus correlate with the occasions of peptide release as determined by recording from the peptidergic cell bodies. The results are interpreted to indicate that the amygdala projection to the hippocampus has a special role to play in social behavior.
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PMID:The output of the hippocampus is inhibited during social behavior in the male rat. 889 34

The research presented at this conference, including a series of excellent posters from junior investigators, documents the pervasive importance of affiliation and other social behaviors. Affiliative behaviors interact with, but are distinct from reproductive and aggressive behaviors. Patterns of social behaviors tend to be more species-typical than the behaviors associated with reproduction or aggression. However, neural circuits necessary for approach or avoidance also are necessary for the expression of various types of affiliative behavior such as maternal behavior or pair-bond formation. Furthermore, candidate neurochemical systems have been identified that contribute to various types of affiliative behavior. For example, studies revealing new behavioral functions for steroid hormones of the adrenal axis, such as corticosterone, and neuropeptides, including the endorphins, oxytocin and vasopressin, extend our general knowledge of neurobiology; they may also lead to studies that expand our understanding of social behavior and the connections to systems that regulate emotions. The work represented in this volume also has important implications for the study of serious neuropsychiatric disorders. For example, episodes of certain of these disorders can be induced by social stressors; in other disorders, a marked decrease in affiliative behaviors is a prominent feature of the patients' difficulties. Furthermore, abnormalities in animal systems implicated in the neurobiology of affiliation (oxytocin, vasopressin, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system) have also been documented for major depression in humans. Animal models, such as those described at this conference, offer evolutionary perspectives, from which it is possible to extract general principles. At the same time, our understanding of the mechanistic and neurobiological substrates of both constructive and destructive social behaviors is increasing. At the conference, the evolutionary and mechanistic perspectives converged on the theme that studies of affiliative behaviors cannot be fully interpreted in isolation from other social behaviors; neither can they effectively be isolated from the biological and social contexts that shape their expression. Advances in this research area seem dependent on integrating experimental research across levels of analysis. Although this task is challenging, we are confident that an awareness of integrative principles can lead to new and important research opportunities.
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PMID:The integrative neurobiology of affiliation. Introduction. 907 40

For mammalian reproduction to succeed, self-defense and asociality must be subjugated to positive social behaviors, at least during birth, lactation, and sexual behavior. Perhaps the important task of regulating the interaction between social and agonistic behaviors is managed, in part, by interactions between two related neurochemical systems that incorporate oxytocin and vasopressin in their functions. The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin participate in important reproductive functions, such as parturition and lactation, and homeostatic responses, including modulation of the adrenal axis. Recent evidence also implicates these hormones in social aspects of reproductive behaviors. For example, oxytocin is important for a variety of positive social behaviors, including the regulation of maternal-infant interactions. In adult animals, oxytocin may facilitate both social contact and selective social interactions associated with social attachment and pair bonding, and it participates in the regulation of parasympathetic functions. Vasopressin, in contrast, is associated with behaviors that might be broadly classified as "defensive" including enhanced arousal, attention, or vigilance, increased aggressive behavior, and a general increase in sympathetic functions. On the basis of the literature on the functions of these hormones and our own recent findings, we propose that dynamic interactions between oxytocin and vasopressin are components of a larger system which integrates the neuroendocrine and autonomic changes associated with mammalian social behaviors and the concurrent regulation of the stress axis. In addition, studies of lactating females provide a valuable model for understanding the more general neuroendocrinology of the stress axis. Peptide hormones, including oxytocin and vasopressin, do not readily cross the blood-brain barrier and must be administered centrally (i.c.v.) to reach the brain. Nasal sprays have been used to promote milk let down and have been used in some behavioral studies, but the extent to which such compounds reach the brain is not known. Therefore, virtually nothing is known regarding the effects in humans of centrally administered oxytocin. The study of human lactation, in conjunction with animal research, provides an opportunity to begin to develop viable hypotheses regarding the behavioral effects of oxytocin.
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PMID:Integrative functions of lactational hormones in social behavior and stress management. 907 49


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