Gating of social reward by oxytocin in the ventral tegmental area

The reward generated by social interactions is critical for promoting prosocial behaviors. Here we present evidence that oxytocin (OXT) release in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key node of the brain's reward circuitry, is necessary to elicit social reward. During social interactions, acti...

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Veröffentlicht in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Jg. 357; H. 6358; S. 1406
Hauptverfasser: Hung, Lin W, Neuner, Sophie, Polepalli, Jai S, Beier, Kevin T, Wright, Matthew, Walsh, Jessica J, Lewis, Eastman M, Luo, Liqun, Deisseroth, Karl, Dölen, Gül, Malenka, Robert C
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: United States 29.09.2017
Schlagworte:
Animals
Dopaminergic Neurons - physiology
Integrases
Interpersonal Relations
Mice
Mice, Knockout
Oxytocin - genetics
Oxytocin - secretion
Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus - cytology
Presynaptic Terminals - physiology
Reward
Social Behavior
Ventral Tegmental Area - secretion
ISSN:1095-9203, 1095-9203
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Zusammenfassung:The reward generated by social interactions is critical for promoting prosocial behaviors. Here we present evidence that oxytocin (OXT) release in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key node of the brain's reward circuitry, is necessary to elicit social reward. During social interactions, activity in paraventricular nucleus (PVN) OXT neurons increased. Direct activation of these neurons in the PVN or their terminals in the VTA enhanced prosocial behaviors. Conversely, inhibition of PVN OXT axon terminals in the VTA decreased social interactions. OXT increased excitatory drive onto reward-specific VTA dopamine (DA) neurons. These results demonstrate that OXT promotes prosocial behavior through direct effects on VTA DA neurons, thus providing mechanistic insight into how social interactions can generate rewarding experiences.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aan4994