Positive reinforcing effect of oxytocin microinjection in the rat central nucleus of amygdala

László, Kristóf; Kovács, Anita; Zagoracz, Olga; Ollmann, Tamás; Péczely, László; Kertes, Erika; Lacy, D.G.; Lénárd, László

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.09.021

Cited by 37 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Because the OT system in the CeA is known to play a role in anxiety (Bale et al, 2001; László et al, 2016), we determined whether the effects of OTR blockade in the CeA on social investigation time in males were secondary due to effects on anxiety-related behavior. There were no effects of sex or OTR antagonist treatment on the percentage of time spent on the open arms (sex: F (1,23) =0.05, p=0.83, treatment: F (1,23) =1.95, p=0.18, sex × treatment: F (1,23) =0.27, p=0.61; Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, an increase in OT activity in the CeA has been found to decrease freezing in fear-conditioned male (Viviani et al, 2011; Lahoud and Maroun, 2013) and female (Knobloch et al, 2012) rats. Furthermore, OT administration in the CeA increased time spent on the open arm on the elevated plus maze in male rats (László et al, 2016) and in the middle quadrant in the open field test in female rats (Bale et al, 2001). However, our finding is consistent with several studies showing that acute OTR antagonist injections in the CeA or lateral ventricle have no effect on anxiety-related behaviors (Neumann et al, 2000; Slattery and Neumann, 2010; László et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vehicle-treated groups were never paired with drug-treated groups on a post hoc basis nor were they paired with other drug-treated groups. Concentrations for the OTR antagonist and OT were based on prior research in which these doses were effective in altering diverse social behaviors (Guzmán et al, 2013, 2014; Bredewold et al, 2014; Laszlo et al, 2016; Dumais et al. 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of the oxytocin system in amygdala subregions in the regulation of social interest in male and female rats

et al. 2016

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We previously found that oxytocin (OT) receptor (OTR) binding density in the medial amygdala (MeA) correlated positively with social interest (i.e., the motivation to investigate a conspecific) in male rats, while OTR binding density in the central amygdala (CeA) correlated negatively with social interest in female rats. Here, we determined the causal involvement of OTR in the MeA and CeA in the sex-specific regulation of social interest in adult rats by injecting an OTR antagonist (5 ng/0.5 µl/side) or OT (100 pg/0.5 µl/side) before the social interest test (4-min same-sex juvenile exposure). OTR blockade in the CeA decreased social interest in males but not females, while all other treatments had no behavioral effect. To further explore the sex-specific involvement of the OT system in the CeA in social interest, we used in vivo microdialysis to determine possible sex differences in endogenous OT release in the CeA during social interest. Interestingly, males and females showed similar levels of extracellular OT release at baseline and during social interest, suggesting that factors other than local OT release mediate the sex-specific role of CeA-OTR in social interest. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between CeA-OT release and social investigation time in females. This was further reflected by reduced CeA-OT release during social interest in females that expressed low compared to high social interest. We discuss the possibility that this reduction in OT release may be a consequence, rather than a cause, of exposure to a social stimulus. Overall, our findings show for the first time that extracellular OT release in the CeA is similar between males and females and that OTR in the CeA plays a causal role in the regulation of social interest towards juvenile conspecifics in males.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of the oxytocin system in amygdala subregions in the regulation of social interest in male and female rats

et al. 2016

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“…Doses that are associated with CPP are much higher than that used in humans (97) and in most human studies, subjects cannot discern that they have received the drug (98). That said, a recent rodent study showed that OT injected into the central amygdala resulted in CPP as well as anxiolytic effects (99). There are deficits in OT functioning in addiction that may be remediated by administration of OT, particularly if it is given in a therapeutic context.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Targeting the Oxytocin System to Treat Addictive Disorders: Rationale and Progress to Date

et al. 2016

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The neuropeptide oxytocin plays a role in reward, stress, social affiliation, learning and memory processes. As such there is increasing interest in oxytocin as a potential treatment for addictions. The oxytocin system is itself altered by acute or chronic exposure to drugs of abuse. A large number of preclinical studies in rodents have investigated the effect of oxytocin on various drug-induced behaviors to determine whether oxytocin can reverse the neuroadaptations occurring with repeated drug and alcohol use. In addition, the mechanisms by which oxytocin acts to modify the behavioral response to drugs of abuse are beginning to be understood. More recently, a few small clinical studies have been conducted in cocaine, cannabis and alcohol dependence. This review summarizes the preclinical as well as clinical literature to date on the oxytocin system and its relevance to drug and alcohol addiction.

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“…What is more, blocking extracellular MMP-9 activity with its inhibitor TIMP-1 severely impairs appetitive learning in mice, but has no effect on the aversive learning. In addition, stimulation of the CeA mu opioid (DiFeliceantonio and Berridge 2012) and oxytocin (László et al 2016) receptors enhance incentive salience of a cue paired with a food reward and preference towards a place associated with drug injection, respectively. Both stimulants are believed to act upon the mesolimbic dopaminergic system via its connections with the central nucleus of the amygdala.…”

Section: Functional Diversity Of the Amygdalar Nuclei In Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional organization of the human amygdala in appetitive learning

Kolada¹,

Bielski²,

Falkiewicz³

et al. 2017

Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis

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The amygdala is a small subcortical structure located bilaterally in medial temporal lobes. It is a key region for emotional processes and some forms of associative learning. In particular, the role of the amygdala in processing of negative emotions and aversive learning has been shown in numerous studies. However, involvement of this structure in processing of positive affect and appetitive learning is not fully understood. Previous experiments in animals are not consistent. While some authors implicate only the centromedial part of the amygdala in appetitive learning, the others suggest contribution of both centromedial and basolateral subregions. Although from the evolutionary perspective appetitive learning is equally important as aversive learning, research on the role of the human amygdala and its subregions in appetitive learning is undertaken relatively rarely and the results are not conclusive. Therefore, the aim of this review is twofold: to summarize the current knowledge in this field and to indicate and discuss the factors, which might affect the observed level of the amygdala activity during appetitive learning in humans.

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Positive reinforcing effect of oxytocin microinjection in the rat central nucleus of amygdala

Cited by 37 publications

References 53 publications

Role of the oxytocin system in amygdala subregions in the regulation of social interest in male and female rats

Role of the oxytocin system in amygdala subregions in the regulation of social interest in male and female rats

Targeting the Oxytocin System to Treat Addictive Disorders: Rationale and Progress to Date

Functional organization of the human amygdala in appetitive learning

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