Behavioral and epigenetic consequences of oxytocin treatment at birth.

Autor: Kenkel WM; Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Lindley Hall, 150 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.; Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, 100 Piedmont Ave SE, Atlanta GA 30303, USA., Perkeybile AM; Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Lindley Hall, 150 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA., Yee JR; Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Lindley Hall, 150 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA., Pournajafi-Nazarloo H; Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Lindley Hall, 150 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA., Lillard TS; Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA., Ferguson EF; Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA., Wroblewski KL; Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA., Ferris CF; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA., Carter CS; Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Lindley Hall, 150 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA., Connelly JJ; Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Science advances [Sci Adv] 2019 May 01; Vol. 5 (5), pp. eaav2244. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 May 01 (Print Publication: 2019).
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav2244
Abstrakt: Oxytocin is used in approximately half of all births in the United States during labor induction and/or augmentation. However, the effects of maternal oxytocin administration on offspring development have not been fully characterized. Here, we used the socially monogamous prairie vole to examine the hypothesis that oxytocin exposure at birth can have long-term developmental consequences. Maternally administered oxytocin increased methylation of the oxytocin receptor ( Oxtr ) in the fetal brain. As adults, oxytocin-exposed voles were more gregarious, with increased alloparental caregiving toward pups and increased close social contact with other adults. Cross-fostering indicated that these effects were the result of direct action on the offspring, rather than indirect effects via postnatal changes in maternal behavior. Male oxytocin-exposed offspring had increased oxytocin receptor density and expression in the brain as adults. These results show that long-term effects of perinatal oxytocin may be mediated by an epigenetic mechanism.
Databáze: MEDLINE