Aggressive behavior and stress response after oxytocin administration in male Norway rats selected for different attitudes to humans
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT) is known to influence on social behaviors, including intermale aggression and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. However, there are no data on the effects of oxytocin on intermale aggression and HPA axis activity in rats selected for elimination and enhancement of aggressiveness towards humans. The aim of this study is to elucidate the role of oxytocin in expression of aggressive behavior and stress response in Norway rats selected for elimination (tame) and enhancement (aggressive) of an aggressive-defensive reaction to humans. Oxytocin was administered to males via nasal applications once or for 5 days (daily). Resident-intruder test showed that in aggressive males, single oxytocin administration caused an increase in the latent period of aggressive interactions and a decrease in the percentage of direct aggression time (not including the time of lateral threat postures) as compared to the control aggressive rats administered with saline. After a 5-day oxytocin administration, aggressive animals demonstrated shorter time of aggressive interactions compared to the control rats. Resident-intruder test revealed no significant changes in behavior of tame rats after single oxytocin administration, while multiple administration caused an increase in aggressive behavior in tame rats. Oxytocin applications caused an elevation of corticosterone level after restriction in aggressive males, but did not affect expression of Crh, Crh1 and Crhr2 genes in hypothalamus in either tame or aggressive rats. The data obtained indicate significant role of oxytocinergic system in the behavior formed in the process of selection by reaction to humans.
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One study showed that in rats selectively bred for aggression or tameness toward humans, a 5-day intranasal treatment with OT reduced aggressive behavior in the aggressive strain but increased it in the tame strain.
“One study even showed the differential effects of OT in rats selectively bred for aggression or tameness toward humans, with a 5-day intranasal treatment reducing aggressive behavior in the aggressive strain but increasing it in the tame strain (Gulevich et al., 2019).”
From Wireless Optogenetic Stimulation of Oxytocin Neurons in a Semi-natural Setup Dynamically Elevates Both Pro-social and Agonistic Behaviors (2020) · cites this paper as Gulevich et al., 2019
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- Authors
- Gulevich, R., Kozhemyakina, R., Shikhevich, S., Konoshenko, M., & Herbeck, Y.
- Affiliations
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics (RU)
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine (RU)
- Corresponding author
- Gulevich, Rimma
- Venue
- Physiology & Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-02
- Volume
- 199
- Pages
- 210-218
- ISSN
- 0031-9384 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2901954570
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4
- FWCI
- 1.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Physiology & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Russian Foundation for Basic Research (16-04-00637)
- Russian Budgeted Project (0324-2018-0016)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Keywords
- oxytocin, aggression, stress response, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, corticosterone, resident-intruder test, human-directed aggression, corticotropin-releasing factor, CRHR2, hypothalamus, oxytocinergic system, Rattus norvegicus
- MeSH terms
- Administration, Intranasal, Aggression, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Corticosterone, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Hypothalamus, Male, Oxytocin, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Social Behavior, Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Rats
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