title: A Distributed Network for Social Cognition Enriched for Oxytocin Receptors.
abstract: Oxytocin is a neuropeptide important for social behaviors such as maternal care and parent-infant bonding. It is believed that oxytocin receptor signaling in the brain is critical for these behaviors, but it is unknown precisely when and where oxytocin receptors are expressed or which neural circuits are directly sensitive to oxytocin. To overcome this challenge, we generated specific antibodies to the mouse oxytocin receptor and examined receptor expression throughout the brain. We identified a distributed network of female mouse brain regions for maternal behaviors that are especially enriched for oxytocin receptors, including the piriform cortex, the left auditory cortex, and CA2 of the hippocampus. Electron microscopic analysis of the cerebral cortex revealed that oxytocin receptors were mainly expressed at synapses, as well as on axons and glial processes. Functionally, oxytocin transiently reduced synaptic inhibition in multiple brain regions and enabled long-term synaptic plasticity in the auditory cortex. Thus modulation of inhibition may be a general mechanism by which oxytocin can act throughout the brain to regulate parental behaviors and social cognition.
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology.
authors.forename: Mariela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitre
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology.
authors.forename: Bianca J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Marlin
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology.
authors.forename: Jennifer K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Schiavo
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology.
authors.forename: Egzona
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Morina
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Cell Biology, and Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016.
authors.forename: Samantha E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Norden
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, and.
authors.forename: Troy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Hackett
authors.affiliation: Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003.
authors.forename: Chiye J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4010-9425
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Cell Biology, and Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003 moses.chao@med.nyu.edu robert.froemke@med.nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Moses V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003 moses.chao@med.nyu.edu robert.froemke@med.nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Froemke
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018045:Receptors, Oxytocin / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D012919:Social Behavior
chemical_list: C576074:OXTR protein, mouse; D018045:Receptors, Oxytocin
keywords: antibody; auditory cortex; development; inhibition; oxytocin; synaptic plasticity