Cited by 107Memory and Neural MechanismsNeuroendocrine regulation and behaviorNeuropeptides and Animal Physiology

Central administration of oxytocin receptor ligands affects cued fear extinction in rats and mice in a timepoint-dependent manner

Toth, Iulia, Neumann, Inga D., Slattery, David A.·2012·Psychopharmacology

Abstract

Rationale Oxytocin (OXT) has been proposed as a potential therapeutic agent for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Objectives We aimed to verify whether pharmacological manipulation of the brain OXT system affects cued fear conditioning and fear extinction.Methods Male rats and mice were intracerebroventricularly administered synthetic OXT (rats, 0.1 or 1.0 μg/5 μl; mice, 0.1 or 0.5 μg/2 μl) and/or an OXT receptor antagonist (OXTR-A; rats, 0.75 μg/5 μl) either prior to fear conditioning or extinction training.Results Preconditioning administration of OXT did not affect fear conditioning in rats, but decreased fear expression and facilitated fear extinction. In contrast, preconditioning blockade of OXT neurotransmission by OXTR-A did not affect fear conditioning or fear expression, but impaired fear extinction. When administered before extinction training, OXT impaired fear extinction in both rats and mice, indicating that the effects of OXT on fear extinction are conserved across species. This impairment was OXTR-mediated, as the inhibitory effect of OXT on fear extinction was abolished by prior treatment with OXTR-A. The impaired fear extinction was not a result of reduced locomotion in rats, whereas an apparent decrease in fear expression and facilitation of fear extinction with the higher OXT dose in mice was the result of behavioral hyperactivity.Conclusions These results suggest that increasing OXT neurotransmission during traumatic events is likely to prevent the formation of aversive memories. In contrast, OXT treatment before fear extinction training, which would be the comparable timepoint for psychotherapy in PTSD patients, rather delays fear extinction and, therefore, caution is needed before recommending OXT for the treatment of PTSD.

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Crossref · 10.1007/s00213-012-2702-4

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78 of 78 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • In rodents, administration of OT before fear conditioning facilitated fear extinction.

    “administration of OT before fear conditioning decreased fear expression and facilitated fear extinction”

    From A precision medicine approach to oxytocin trials (2017) · cites this paper as Toth et al. 2012

  • In mice and rats, infusion of OT after fear conditioning and before extinction impaired fear extinction.

    “the infusion of OT after fear conditioning and before extinction instead impaired fear extinction in mice and rats”

    From A precision medicine approach to oxytocin trials (2017) · cites this paper as Toth et al. 2012

  • In rodents, blockage of OT neurotransmission before conditioning impaired fear extinction.

    “blockage of OT neurotransmission before conditioning impaired fear extinction”

    From A precision medicine approach to oxytocin trials (2017) · cites this paper as Toth et al. 2012

  • In rodents, administration of OT before fear conditioning decreased fear expression.

    “administration of OT before fear conditioning decreased fear expression”

    From A precision medicine approach to oxytocin trials (2017) · cites this paper as Toth et al. 2012

  • In rodents, central oxytocin administration before conditioned fear extinction improved social fear extinction but impaired nonsocial fear extinction.

    “in rodents, central oxytocin administration before conditioned fear extinction improved social fear extinction (68) but impaired nonsocial fear extinction (69).”

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Authors
Toth, I., Neumann, I. D., & Slattery, D. A.
Affiliations
University of Regensburg (DE)
Corresponding author
Slattery, David A.
Venue
Psychopharmacology
Published
2012-04-20
Volume
223
Issue
2
Pages
149-158
ISSN
  • 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-2072
OpenAlex
W2074960279
Cited by
107
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 2
FWCI
5.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • University of Regensburg Publication Server (University of Regensburg) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
  • Bayerische Forschungsstiftung
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
Keywords
oxytocin, oxytocin receptor antagonist, fear extinction, fear conditioning, post-traumatic stress disorder, intracerebroventricular administration, timing of drug administration, behavioral hyperactivity
MeSH terms
Animals, Behavior, Animal, Conditioning, Psychological, Cues, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Extinction, Psychological, Fear, Injections, Intraventricular, Ligands, Male, Mice, Inbred Strains, Motor Activity, Oxytocin, Retention, Psychology, Species Specificity, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Time Factors, Rats, Wistar, Receptors, Oxytocin, Mice, Rats

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