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Sex differences in neural activation following different routes of oxytocin administration in awake adult rats
- Source :
- Psychoneuroendocrinology. 81:52-62
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2017.
-
Abstract
- The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) regulates social behavior in sex-specific ways across species. OT has promising effects on alleviating social deficits in sex-biased neuropsychiatric disorders. However little is known about potential sexually dimorphic effects of OT on brain function. Using the rat as a model organism, we determined whether OT administered centrally or peripherally induces sex differences in brain activation. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal intensity changes in the brains of awake rats during the 20 min following intracerebroventricular (ICV; 1μg/5μl) or intraperitoneal (IP; 0.1mg/kg) OT administration as compared to baseline. ICV OT induced sex differences in BOLD activation in 26 out of 172 brain regions analyzed, with 20 regions showing a greater volume of activation in males (most notably the nucleus accumbens and insular cortex), and 6 regions showing a greater volume of activation in females (including the lateral and central amygdala). IP OT also elicited sex differences in BOLD activation with a greater volume of activation in males, but this activation was found in different and fewer (10) brain regions compared to ICV OT. In conclusion, exogenous OT modulates neural activation differently in male versus female rats with the pattern and magnitude, but not the direction, of sex differences depending on the route of administration. These findings highlight the need to include both sexes in basic and clinical studies to fully understand the role of OT on brain function.
- Subjects :
- Male
0301 basic medicine
medicine.medical_specialty
Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Neuropeptide
Nucleus accumbens
Oxytocin
Insular cortex
Amygdala
Article
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Endocrinology
Internal medicine
medicine
Animals
Wakefulness
Biological Psychiatry
Neurons
Sex Characteristics
medicine.diagnostic_test
Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Functional Neuroimaging
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Rats
Psychiatry and Mental health
Infusions, Intraventricular
030104 developmental biology
medicine.anatomical_structure
Female
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Psychology
Injections, Intraperitoneal
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Sex characteristics
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 03064530
- Volume :
- 81
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....bb8afd1e7ca59b17ec097bf63a60770c