Reconstruction of the Hypothalamo-Neurohypophysial System and Functional Dissection of Magnocellular Oxytocin Neurons in the Brain
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Abstract
The hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system (HNS), comprising hypothalamic magnocellular neuroendocrine cells (MNCs) and the neurohypophysis, plays a pivotal role in regulating reproduction and fluid homeostasis by releasing oxytocin and vasopressin into the bloodstream. However, its structure and contribution to the central actions of oxytocin and vasopressin remain incompletely understood. Using viral tracing and whole-brain imaging, we reconstruct the three-dimensional architecture of the HNS and observe collaterals of MNCs within the brain. By dual viral tracing, we further uncover that subsets of MNCs collaterally project to multiple extrahypothalamic regions. Selective activation of magnocellular oxytocin neurons promote peripheral oxytocin release and facilitate central oxytocin-mediated social interactions, whereas inhibition of these neurons elicit opposing effects. Our work reveals the previously unrecognized complexity of the HNS and provides structural and functional evidence for MNCs in coordinating both peripheral and central oxytocin-mediated actions, which will shed light on the mechanistic understanding of oxytocin-related psychiatric diseases.
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Oxytocinergic axons are found throughout the brain, including in the thalamus, cortex, amygdala, striatum, and hippocampus.
“revealed oxytocinergic axons throughout the brain, including in the thalamus, cortex, amygdala, striatum, and hippocampus”
From Oxytocin, Neural Plasticity, and Social Behavior (2021) · cites this paper as Zhang et al. 2021
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- Authors
- Zhang, B., Qiu, L., Xiao, W., Ni, H., Chen, L., Wang, F., Mai, W., Wu, J., Bao, A., Hu, H., Gong, H., Duan, S., Li, A., & Gao, Z.
- Affiliations
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (CN)
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Li, Anan
- Gao, Zhihua
- ORCID
- Venue
- Neuron
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-01
- Volume
- 109
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 331-346.e7
- ISSN
- 0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3101803993
- Cited by
- 131
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 18.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Neuron (publishedVersion)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Keywords
- hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system, oxytocin neurons, vasopressin, neurohypophysis, social behavior, reproduction, fluid homeostasis, viral tracing, whole-brain imaging
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Male, Neurons, Organ Culture Techniques, Oxytocin, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Basal Nucleus of Meynert, Rats, Rats, Transgenic
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