Table 2.
Effects in later life of postnatal day 1 exposure to a single injection of OT (oxytocin, low dose = 3 or 6 μg; high dose = 12 or 24 μg), or OT antagonist (OTA, 0.3 ng) in prairie voles
| Neonatal treatment | OT (low dose), males | OT (low dose), females | OT (high dose), females | OTA, males | OTA, females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety (EPM) | ↓ 3 μg | NC | NC | NC | NC |
| Alloparental behavior | ↑ 3 μg | NC | ↑1 | ↓ | NC |
| Pair-bond formation | ↑ 3 μg | ↑ 6 μg | ↓ 12–24 μg | NC | NC |
| OT-ir, PVN | NC | ↑ 3 μg | NA | NC | ↑ |
| AVP-ir, PVN | NC | NC | NA | ↓ | |
| OTR | NC | NC | NA | NC | NC |
| AVP V1aR | ↑∗ 3 μg | ↓∗∗ 3 μg | NA | ↓∗∗∗ | ↓∗∗∗∗ |
See table 1 for other abbreviations. In comparison to either saline or handled controls (which did not differ from each other).
↑ = Significant increase; ↓ = significant decrease.
In neonatal OT (3 μg) group males,
Effects of higher doses of OT for males are available only for pair-bond formation. While a 3-μg dose facilitated pair-bonding in males [Bales and Carter, 2003b], males given a 6-μg dose showed no pair-bond, and a 12-μg dose reinstated the bond [Carter et al., 2008].
Trend to increase.
AVP V1a R was increased in the ventral pallidum and cingulate cortex (CgCtx), and in females,
reduced in the medial preoptic area (mPOA), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), lateral septum (LS), CgCtx and medial thalamus. In the neonatal OTA (0.3 μg) male group
AVP V1aR was reduced in the mPOA, BNST and lateral septum, and in the female group, it was
reduced in BNST and CgCtx.