Release of oxytocin in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, but not central amygdala or lateral septum in lactating residents and virgin intruders during maternal defence

• Published in: Neuroscience 2004, Vol.124 (2), p.439-448
• Main Authors: Bosch, O.J, Krömer, S.A, Brunton, P.J, Neumann, I.D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amygdala - anatomy & histology; Amygdala - metabolism; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Behavior, Animal; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Lactation - metabolism; Male; maternal aggression; Maternal Behavior - physiology; maternal behaviour; microdialysis; Microdialysis - methods; Oxytocin - metabolism; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus - anatomy & histology; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus - metabolism; Pregnancy; Radioimmunoassay - methods; Rats; Septal Nuclei - anatomy & histology; Septal Nuclei - metabolism; stress; Time Factors; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
• ISSN: 0306-4522; 1873-7544
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2003.11.028

In lactating rats, the neuroendocrine responses of the oxytocinergic system and the hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal axis to various kinds of stressors are attenuated. In this study, using intracerebral microdialysis in combination with a highly sensitive radioimmunoassay, we characterised oxytocin (OXT) release within the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the central amygdala (CeA), and the medio-lateral septum (mS) before, during and after a psycho-social stressor (the maternal defence test) in both the virgin intruder and the lactating resident rat (day 3 of lactation). Within the PVN, local OXT release was found to increase significantly in virgin intruders during exposure to the resident (2.1-fold, P