title: Oxytocin and behavior: Lessons from knockout mice.
abstract: It is well established that the nonapeptide oxytocin (Oxt) is important for the neural modulation of behaviors in many mammalian species. Since its discovery in 1906 and synthesis in the early 1950s, elegant pharmacological work has helped identify specific neural substrates on which Oxt exerts its effects. More recently, mice with targeted genetic disruptions of the Oxt system-i.e., both the peptide and its receptor (the Oxtr)-have further defined Oxt's actions and laid some important scientific groundwork for studies in other species. In this article, we highlight the scientific contributions that various mouse knockouts of the Oxt system have made to our understanding of Oxt's modulation of behavior. We specifically focus on how the use of these mice has shed light on our understanding of social recognition memory, maternal behavior, aggression, and several nonsocial behaviors. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 190-201, 2017.
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242.|School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242.
authors: Heather K
authors: HK
authors: Caldwell
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242.
authors: Elizabeth A
authors: EA
authors: Aulino
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242.
authors: Angela R
authors: AR
authors: Freeman
authors: School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242.
authors: Travis V
authors: TV
authors: Miller
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242.
authors: Shannah K
authors: SK
authors: Witchey
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior
chemical_list: D010121:Oxytocin
keywords: aggression; maternal behaviors; oxytocin; oxytocin receptor; social memory