The DOI matches its Crossref record; 201 of the 202 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Mechanisms underlying epigenetic effects of early social experience: The role of neuropeptides and steroids
Abstract
In mammals the neonatal period is a time of significant social interaction. This is true even in solitary species as females spend a significant amount of time nursing and caring for their offspring. In social species interactions may also include the father, older siblings and extended family members. This period is a time of significant development, including organization of the central nervous system, and therefore a time when the degree and type of social interaction influences the development and expression of social behavior in adulthood. The purpose of this review is to examine the possible mechanisms for the epigenetic effects of early social experience on the subsequent expression of social behavior. We propose that social interactions during the neonatal period organize the subsequent expression of behavior by altering sensitivity to neuropeptides and steroids. Both neuropeptides (e.g. oxytocin and arginine vasopressin) and steroids (e.g. estrogen) regulate or influence the expression of behaviors such as affiliation, aggression, sociosexual behavior, parental behavior, and responses to stress. Therefore, changes in sensitivity to these hormones via reorganization of receptors or changes in hormone production and secretion are potentially powerful mechanisms through which early social experience can mold subsequent social behaviors.
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“Because AVP/OT and the dopaminergic pathways they feed into are heavily influenced by sex steroids across the lifespan (50–59), it is highly plausible that their sexually dimorphic ontogeny and function may be particularly vulnerable to endocrine disruption.”
From Endocrine Disruption of Vasopressin Systems and Related Behaviors (2017) · cites this paper as [51]
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“Work from Bruce Cushing’s laboratory suggests that the BNST and MeA are particularly important for the developmental effects of Oxt and ERα on social behavior (24, 26, 94)”
From Oxytocin during Development: Possible Organizational Effects on Behavior (2015) · cites this paper as [94]
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Metadata
- Authors
- CUSHING, B., & KRAMER, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- CUSHING, B
- ORCID
- CUSHING, B
- Venue
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1089-1105
- ISSN
- 0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2048444812
- Cited by
- 209
- References
- 202
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 14.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH 01992, K01MH001992)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD 41293, P01HD038490, HD38490, F32HD041293)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- early social experience, epigenetic mechanisms, neuropeptides, oxytocin, vasopressin, estrogen, steroid hormones, social behavior development, receptor sensitivity, parental behavior, aggression, sociosexual behavior, stress response, affiliation
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Animals, Newborn, Behavior, Animal, Female, Humans, Limbic System, Male, Neurosecretory Systems, Oxytocin, Sex Characteristics, Social Behavior, Social Environment, Vasotocin, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Epigenesis, Genetic
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