title: Intranasal oxytocin administration improves depression-like behaviors in adult rats that experienced neonatal maternal deprivation.
abstract: Oxytocin (OT), a hypothalamic neuropeptide, has been implicated in the regulation of social behaviors in rodents and humans. This study assessed the effects of intranasal administration of OT on depressive-like behaviors and hippocampal neurogenesis in adult rats following neonatal maternal deprivation (NMD). Here, we show that NMD resulted in significant depression-like behaviors, as indicated by decreases in physical activity and emotional reactivity in a novel environment, in 2-month-old animals. Notably, the OT levels in the plasma, hypothalamus, and hippocampus were decreased in these animals. Intranasal administration of OT reduced the depressive-like behaviors in NMD rats and rescued hippocampal long-term plasticity impaired by NMD stress in rats by promoting hippocampal neurogenesis. These results indicate that OT alleviates the depressive-like behaviors in NMD adult rats, probably mediated by improving adult hippocampal neurogenesis.
authors.affiliation: aShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Department of Physiology bDepartment of Medical Ethics, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan cDepartment of Pathology, Central Hospital of Zibo, Zibo, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Haoyi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Wenlong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Ruchen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yumin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xinmei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaoyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D010121:Oxytocin