ArticleHormones and behavior2020
Orally administered oxytocin alters brain activation and behaviors of pre-weaning mice.
Article in Hormones and behavior, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Oral Administration of Oxytocin, Like Intranasal Administration, Decreases Top-Down Social Attention.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Trial
- Regional differences in oxytocin and vasopressin 1a receptor functionality in mouse embryonic brain development.Neuroscience letters · 2025Article
- The Oxytocin System and Implications for Oxytocin Deficiency in Hypothalamic-Pituitary Disease.Endocrine reviews · 2025Review
- Oxytocin measurements in saliva: an analytical perspective.BMC veterinary research · 2023Review
- Oxytocin via oxytocin receptor excites neurons in the endopiriform nucleus of juvenile mice.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The role of enriched environment in neural development and repair.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2022Review
- Oro-mucosal administration of oxytocin using medicated lollipops alters social attention, similar to intranasal and lingual routes: Implications for therapeutic use.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- Oxytocin administration in neonates shapes hippocampal circuitry and restores social behavior in a mouse model of autism.Molecular psychiatry · 2021Article
- Specificity of plasma oxytocin immunoassays: A comparison of commercial assays and sample preparation techniques using oxytocin knockout and wildtype mice.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2021Article
- Oxytocin receptor disruption in Avil-expressing cells results in blunted sociability and increased inter-male aggression.PloS one · 2021Article
- Dynamic regulation of oxytocin neuronal circuits in the sequential processes of prosocial behavior in rodent models.Current research in neurobiology · 2021Review
- Is Oxytocin "Nature's Medicine"?Pharmacological reviews · 2020Review
- Oxytocin receptor gene loss influences expression of the oxytocin gene in C57BL/6J mice in a sex- and age-dependent manner.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT) regulates adult social behavior and has been implicated in its development. Because mammalian milk contains OXT and we have recently identified OXT receptors (OXTR) in the face and oronasal cavity of pre-weaning mice, we hypothesize that orally applied OXT may impact brain activity and acute behavior in developing mice. Oral OXT may have effects in the absence of sensory stimulation or perhaps by modulating sensory input, such as whisker stimulation. The present study investigates the acute c-Fos response in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and along whisker sensory processing brain regions (trigeminothalamocortical circuit) to orally applied OXT, compared to saline, with and without whisker stimulation in postnatal day (P) 14 and P21 male and female mice. Acute behavioral responses were also quantified after oral OXT with whisker stimulation in a non-social context. Oral OXT with and without whisker stimulation increased c-Fos activity in the PVN of males and decreased c-Fos in the ventroposterior medial thalamus in both males and females compared to saline. Additionally, oral OXT with whisker stimulation decreased c-Fos activity across whisker sensory processing brain regions in males and females and decreased c-Fos activity in the trigeminal motor nucleus of females. Lastly, oral OXT with whisker stimulation increased males' locomotor behavior and decreased females' oromotor behavior compared to saline-treated controls. These data indicate that orally applied OXT has acute brain and behavioral effects on developing mice. OXT-modulated sensory signals may bias brain and behavior development toward the social world.
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