Cited by 173Neuroendocrine regulation and behaviorNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeuropeptides and Animal Physiology

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 68 of the 68 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 15 of the 52 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Sex-specific modulation of juvenile social play by vasopressin

Open access
Veenema, Alexa H., Bredewold, Remco, De Vries, Geert J.·2013·Psychoneuroendocrinology

Abstract

Social play activities among juveniles are thought to contribute to the development of social and emotional skills in humans and animals. Conversely, social play deficits are observed in developmental neuropsychiatric disorders. Importantly, many of these disorders show sex differences in incidence, course of the disease, and severity of symptoms. We hypothesized that sex differences in the neural systems controlling social behavior can contribute to these differences. We therefore studied the involvement of the sexually dimorphic vasopressin and oxytocin systems, which have been implicated in these disorders, in juvenile social play behavior. Single-housed 5-week-old juvenile male and female rats were exposed in their home cage to an age-and sex-matched novel conspecific for 10 min, and social play behaviors were recorded. We found no consistent sex differences in duration or elements of social play in vehicle-treated rats. However, intracerebroventricular injection of the specific vasopressin 1a receptor (V1aR) antagonist (CH2)5Tyr(Me(2))AVP significantly reduced social play behaviors in males while increasing them in females. Intracerebroventricular injection of the specific oxytocin receptor antagonist des-Gly-NH2,d(CH2)5[Tyr(Me)(2),Thr(4)]OVT did not alter social play in either sex. To locate the effects of V1aR blockade on social play, we targeted the lateral septum, a sexually dimorphic brain region showing denser vasopressin fibers in males than in females and an abundant expression of V1aR in both sexes. Surprisingly, blockade of V1aR in the lateral septum increased social play behaviors in males, but decreased them in females. These findings suggest sex- and brain region-specific roles for vasopressin in the regulation of social play behavior in juvenile rats.

Overview

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TL;DR

Central vasopressin regulates juvenile social play in sex- and brain-region-specific ways: ICV V1aR blockade reduced play in males but increased it in females, while lateral-septum V1aR blockade had the opposite pattern. Oxytocin receptor blockade had little effect on social play.

Key findings

  • ICV V1aR antagonist produced sex × treatment effects for duration of social play (F2,50=4.68, p<0.05) and nape attacks (F2,50=11.0, p<0.001), with a tendency for pins (F2,50=3.09, p=0.054). Post hoc tests showed V1aR antagonist-treated males had decreased duration of social play and fewer nape attacks (p<0.05 vs vehicle and vs OTR antagonist), whereas treated females had increased nape attacks (p<0.05 vs vehicle and vs OTR antagonist).
  • ICV OTR antagonist did not alter social play in either sex, except females showed fewer nape attacks than males (p<0.05).
  • Lateral-septum V1aR antagonist yielded effects opposite to ICV injection: sex × treatment effects for duration of social play (F2,34=9.39, p<0.005), nape attacks (F2,34=5.82, p<0.01), and pins (F2,34=12.2, p<0.001). In males, septal V1aR antagonist increased duration of social play (p<0.01 vs vehicle), nape attacks (p<0.005 vs vehicle; p<0.05 vs AVP-treated males), and pins (p<0.01 vs vehicle; p<0.05 vs AVP-treated males); in females, it reduced duration of social play (p<0.05 vs vehicle) and pins (p<0.001 vs vehicle; p<0.05 vs AVP-treated females).
  • Septal synthetic AVP did not change social play. No sex differences were found in vehicle-treated or AVP-treated rats, except more pins in females than males in Experiment 2 (p<0.05).

Methods

  • Juvenile 5-week-old Wistar rats were single-housed after cannulation and tested in a resident-intruder social play paradigm: each resident was exposed in its home cage to an unknown age- and sex-matched intruder for 10 min during the first hour of the dark phase. Behavior was videotaped and scored blind using JWatcher.
  • Experiment 1: ICV injections of Ringer’s vehicle (males n=8; females n=10), V1aR antagonist d(CH2)5Tyr(Me2)AVP (0.75 μg/5 μl; males n=11; females n=8), or OTR antagonist des-Gly-NH2,d(CH2)5[Tyr(Me)2,Thr4]OVT (0.75 μg/5 μl; males n=9; females n=8), tested 20 min later.
  • Experiment 2: septal injections of Ringer’s vehicle (males n=7; females n=7), V1aR antagonist (10 ng/0.5 μl; males n=7; females n=7), or synthetic AVP (200 pg/0.5 μl; males n=7; females n=6), tested 20 min later. Data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA (sex × treatment) and Bonferroni post hoc tests, significance p<0.05.

Limitations

  • The paper does not include a formal limitations section. It states that the lack of OTR antagonist effects was surprising and may reflect opposing effects in different brain regions canceling out after ICV injection; it also states that the absence of septal AVP effects could be due to insufficient AVP concentration or because endogenous AVP already influences play at maximum levels.
  • The paper states that ICV V1aR antagonist effects cannot be explained by the lateral septum alone and likely reflect net inhibition of V1aR activation across multiple brain regions.
  • Evident from the text: findings are based on acute, single-dose pharmacological manipulations in 5-week-old single-housed rats tested in a resident-intruder context, with small group sizes (n=6–11); no dose-response or long-term developmental outcomes are reported, and baseline sex differences in social play were largely absent except for pins in Experiment 2.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.06.002

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  1. Baldwin, 1986, Behavior in infancy: exploration and play, vol. 2, 295

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Metadata

Authors
Veenema, A. H., Bredewold, R., & De Vries, G. J.
Affiliations
Boston College (US)
Venue
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-11
Volume
38
Issue
11
Pages
2554-2561
ISSN
0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2028338644
Cited by
166
References
67
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 10
FWCI
15.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH047538)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
Keywords
social play, vasopressin, oxytocin, sex differences, vasopressin 1a receptor, lateral septum, young rats, social behavior, neurodevelopmental disorders, intracerebroventricular administration, oxytocin receptor antagonist
MeSH terms
Animals, Female, Male, Microinjections, Peptides, Play and Playthings, Sex Characteristics, Social Behavior, Vasopressins, Receptors, Vasopressin, Receptors, Oxytocin, Septum of Brain, Rats, Antidiuretic Hormone Receptor Antagonists

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