Endogenous oxytocin is necessary for preferential Fos expression to male odors in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in female Syrian hamsters
Open accessAbstract
Successful reproduction in mammals depends on proceptive or solicitational behaviors that enhance the probability of encountering potential mates. In female Syrian hamsters, one such behavior is vaginal scent marking. Recent evidence suggests that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) may be critical for regulating this behavior. Blockade of OT receptors in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) or the medial preoptic area (MPOA) decreases vaginal marking responses to male odors; lesion data suggest that BNST, rather than MPOA, mediates this effect. However, how OT interacts with sexual odor processing to drive preferential solicitation is not known. To address this issue, intact female Syrian hamsters were exposed to male or female odors and their brains processed for immunohistochemistry for Fos, a marker of recent neuronal activation, and OT. Additional females were injected intracerebroventricularly (ICV) with an oxytocin receptor antagonist (OTA) or vehicle, and then tested for vaginal marking and Fos responses to sexual odors. Colocalization of OT and Fos in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus was unchanged following exposure to male odors, but decreased following exposure to female odors. Following injections of OTA, Fos expression to male odors was decreased in BNST, but not in MPOA or the medial amygdala (MA). Fos expression in BNST may be functionally relevant for vaginal marking, given that there was a positive correlation between Fos expression and vaginal marking for BNST, but not MPOA or MA. Together, these data suggest that OT facilitation of neuronal activity in BNST underlies the facilitative effects of OT on solicitational responses to male odors.
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Oxytocin activates c-Fos positive neurons.
“which are now known to activate c-Fos positive neurons51–53.”
From Vascular RAGE transports oxytocin into the brain to elicit its maternal bonding behaviour in mice (2019) · cites this paper as [52]
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- Authors
- Martinez, L. A., Levy, M. J., & Petrulis, A.
- Affiliations
- Georgia State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Martinez, Luis A.
- Venue
- Hormones and Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-09
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 653-664
- ISSN
- 0018-506X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3857696
- OpenAlex
- W2022961479
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 2.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Hormones and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- NIH (MH072930)
- Georgia State University Dissertation Grant
- Center for Neuromics Grant (IBN 9876754)
- Center for Behavioral Neuroscience
- STC Program
- NSF
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Keywords
- oxytocin, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, Fos expression, male odor, female sexual behavior, oxytocin receptor antagonist, medial preoptic area, medial amygdala, paraventricular nucleus, golden hamster, olfactory processing
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Cricetinae, Male, Mesocricetus, Odorants, Oxytocin, Septal Nuclei, Sex Attractants, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos, Genes, fos
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