ArticlePloS one2012
Differential contribution of hypothalamic MAPK activity to anxiety-like behaviour in virgin and lactating rats.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 79 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dose-dependent anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects of chronic oxytocin in corticosterone-induced female mouse model of anxiety and depression.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Article
- Neuroendocrine Regulation and Neural Circuitry of Parenthood: Integrating Neuropeptides, Brain Receptors, and Maternal Behavior.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Limbic oxytocin receptor expression alters molecular signaling and social avoidance behavior in female prairie voles (Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Chronic oxytocin-driven alternative splicing of Crfr2α induces anxiety.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Article
- Monitoring oxytocin signaling in the brain: More than a love story.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Review
- Oxytocin Receptor Expression in Hair Follicle Stem Cells: A Promising Model for Biological and Therapeutic Discovery in Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2023Article
- Structure-function relationships of the disease-linked A218T oxytocin receptor variant.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Article
- Oxytocin accelerates tight junction formation and impairs cellular migration in 3D spheroids: evidence from Gapmer-induced exon skipping.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2022Article
- Chronic D-ribose and D-mannose overload induce depressive/anxiety-like behavior and spatial memory impairment in mice.Translational psychiatry · 2021Article
- GABA in the medial prefrontal cortex regulates anxiety-like behavior during the postpartum period.Behavioural brain research · 2021Article
- Brain oxytocin: how puzzle stones from animal studies translate into psychiatry.Molecular psychiatry · 2021Review
- MAP/ERK Signaling in Developing Cognitive and Emotional Function and Its Effect on Pathological and Neurodegenerative Processes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
- Oxytocin and oxytocin receptor alterations, decreased survival, and increased chemoresistance in patients with pancreatic cancer.Hepatobiliary & pancreatic diseases international : HBPD INT · 2020Article
- Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2A (MEF2A) Defines Oxytocin-Induced Morphological Effects and Regulates Mitochondrial Function in Neurons.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Article
- Anxiolytic and Anxiogenic? How the Transcription Factor MEF2 Might Explain the Manifold Behavioral Effects of Oxytocin.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2020Review
- Involvement of Oxytocin Receptor/Erk/MAPK Signaling in the mPFC in Early Life Stress-Induced Autistic-Like Behaviors.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2020Article
- Acute and long-lasting effects of oxytocin in cortico-limbic circuits: consequences for fear recall and extinction.Psychopharmacology · 2019Review
- Oxytocin structure and function in New World monkeys: from pharmacology to behavior.Integrative zoology · 2018Review
- Transcriptome sequencing to detect the potential role of long non-coding RNAs in bovine mammary gland during the dry and lactation period.BMC genomics · 2018Article
- Oxytocin as a Modulator of Synaptic Plasticity: Implications for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.Frontiers in synaptic neuroscience · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The c-Raf - MEK1/2 - ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) intracellular signalling cascade in neurons plays important roles in the control of a variety of behaviours, including social behaviours and anxiety. These roles partially overlap with those described for oxytocin (OXT), and it has been shown that OXT activates the MAPK pathway in the hypothalamus (of male), and hippocampus (of female) rats. Here, by combining behavioural (light/dark box) and biochemical analyses (western blotting), we tested two hypotheses: (i) that OXT is anxiolytic within the hypothalamus of females, and (ii) that this effect, as well as that of lactation-associated anxiolysis, depends on the recruitment of the MAPK pathway. We found that, when injected bilaterally into the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), OXT decreased anxiety-like behaviour in virgins, and that this effect depended on phosphorylation of MEK1/2. MAPK pathway activation in lactation was evident by high phosphorylated (p) MEK1/2 levels, and nuclear translocation of ERK1. The high pMEK1/2 levels were necessary for the anxiolytic phenotype typically observed during lactation. Interestingly, exogenous OXT in lactating rats reduced pMEK1/2 levels without a concomitant effect on anxiety, indicating that OXT receptor activation can lead to recruitment of additional intracellular pathways to modulate MEK activity. Still other pathways could include MEK, but without subsequent activation of ERK, as we did not observe any increase in OXT-induced ERK phosphorylation. Together the results demonstrate that the MAPK pathway, especially MEK1/2, is critically involved in the regulation of anxiety-like behaviour in female rats.
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Registered trials
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