ArticleNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2015
Melanocortin Receptor Agonists Facilitate Oxytocin-Dependent Partner Preference Formation in the Prairie Vole.
Article in Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Oxytocin and opioid antagonists: A dual approach to improving social behavior.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Review
- The Relationship Between Oxytocin and Alcohol Dependence.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025Review
- Melanocortin agonism in a social context selectively activates nucleus accumbens in an oxytocin-dependent manner.Neuropharmacology · 2024Article
- Sympathetic innervation of interscapular brown adipose tissue is not a predominant mediator of oxytocin-elicited reductions of body weight and adiposity in male diet-induced obese mice.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Oxytocin receptors are widely distributed in the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) brain: Relation to social behavior, genetic polymorphisms, and the dopamine system.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2022Article
- Oxytocin, Vasopressin, and Social Behavior: From Neural Circuits to Clinical Opportunities.Endocrinology · 2022Review
- Interplay between the oxytocin and opioid systems in regulating social behaviour.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Review
- Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (αMSH) modulates the rewarding properties of social interactions in an oxytocin receptor-dependent manner in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus Auratus).Physiology & behavior · 2022Article
- Practitioner's review: medication for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid conditions.Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Osterreichischer Nervenarzte und Psychiater · 2021Review
- Zebrafish Bioassay for Screening Therapeutic Candidates Based on Melanotrophic Activity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Oxytocin, Neural Plasticity, and Social Behavior.Annual review of neuroscience · 2021Review
- Natural variation in the oxytocin receptor gene and rearing interact to influence reproductive and nonreproductive social behavior and receptor binding.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2021Article
- Time to re-engage psychiatric drug discovery by strengthening confidence in preclinical psychopharmacology.Psychopharmacology · 2021Review
- Nanoparticle encapsulated oxytocin increases resistance to induced seizures and restores social behavior in Scn1a-derived epilepsy.Neurobiology of disease · 2021Article
- Effects of Combined Oxytocin and Beta-3 Receptor Agonist (CL 316243) Treatment on Body Weight and Adiposity in Male Diet-Induced Obese Rats.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- The role of oxytocin in regulation of appetitive behaviour, body weight and glucose homeostasis.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2020Review
- Social Stimuli Induce Activation of Oxytocin Neurons Within the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus to Promote Social Behavior in Male Mice.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2020Article
- Oxytocin Neurons Enable Melanocortin Regulation of Male Sexual Function in Mice.Molecular neurobiology · 2019Article
- Oxytocin receptor knockout prairie voles generated by CRISPR/Cas9 editing show reduced preference for social novelty and exaggerated repetitive behaviors.Hormones and behavior · 2019Article
- Lost connections: Oxytocin and the neural, physiological, and behavioral consequences of disrupted relationships.International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology · 2019Review
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The central melanocortin (MC) system has been widely studied for its effects on food intake and sexual behavior. However, the MC system, and more specifically the MC4 receptor (MC4R), also interacts with neurochemical systems that regulate socioemotional behaviors, including oxytocin (OT) and dopamine. In monogamous prairie voles, OT and dopamine interact to promote partner preference formation, a laboratory measure of an enduring social bond between mates. Here we investigated the effects of MC receptor activation on partner preference formation in prairie voles, as well as the interaction between the MC and OT systems during this process. Peripheral administration of the brain penetrant MC3/4R receptor peptide agonist, Melanotan II (MTII), and the highly selective, small-molecule MC4R agonist, Pf-446687, enhanced partner preference formation in the prairie vole, but not in the non-monogamous meadow vole. MTII-induced partner preferences were enduring, as they were present 1 week after drug manipulation. The prosocial effects of MCR agonists may be mediated, in part, through modulation of OT, as coadministration of an OT receptor antagonist prevented MTII-induced partner preferences. MTII also selectively activated hypothalamic OT neurons and potentiated central OT release. As OT has been shown to enhance some aspects of social cognition in humans, our data suggest that the MC4R may be a viable therapeutic target for enhancing social function in psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia, potentially through activation of the OT system.
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