The DOI matches its Crossref record; 343 of the 343 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The magnocellular oxytocin system, the fount of maternity: adaptations in pregnancy
Abstract
Oxytocin secretion from the posterior pituitary gland is increased during parturition, stimulated by the uterine contractions that forcefully expel the fetuses. Since oxytocin stimulates further contractions of the uterus, which is exquisitely sensitive to oxytocin at the end of pregnancy, a positive feedback loop is activated. The neural pathway that drives oxytocin neurons via a brainstem relay has been partially characterised, and involves A2 noradrenergic cells in the brainstem. Until close to term the responsiveness of oxytocin neurons is restrained by neuroactive steroid metabolites of progesterone that potentiate GABA inhibitory mechanisms. As parturition approaches, and this inhibition fades as progesterone secretion collapses, a central opioid inhibitory mechanism is activated that restrains the excitation of oxytocin cells by brainstem inputs. This opioid restraint is the predominant damper of oxytocin cells before and during parturition, limiting stimulation by extraneous stimuli, and perhaps facilitating optimal spacing of births and economical use of the store of oxytocin accumulated during pregnancy. During parturition, oxytocin cells increase their basal activity, and hence oxytocin secretion increases. In addition, the oxytocin cells discharge a burst of action potentials as each fetus passes through the birth canal. Each burst causes the secretion of a pulse of oxytocin, which sharply increases uterine tone; these bursts depend upon auto-stimulation by oxytocin released from the dendrites of the magnocellular neurons in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei. With the exception of the opioid mechanism that emerges to restrain oxytocin cell responsiveness, the behavior of oxytocin cells and their inputs in pregnancy and parturition is explicable from the effects of hormones of pregnancy (relaxin, estrogen, progesterone) on pre-existing mechanisms, leading through relative quiescence at term inter alia to net increase in oxytocin storage, and reduced auto-inhibition by nitric oxide generation. Cyto-architectonic changes in parturition, involving evident retraction of glial processes between oxytocin cells so they get closer together, are probably a response to oxytocin neuron activation rather than being essential for their patterns of firing in parturition.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“In lactating rats, suckling evokes bursts of action potentials in oxytocin cells that result in pulsatile oxytocin secretion, and this bursting is facilitated by 1-2ng oxytocin i.c.v.(26).Effects on maternal behavior in the rat need much higher doses (~400ng) (4).Partner preference effects in voles require infusions of oxytocin at 10-100ng/h (5), and, to stimulate maternal behavior in sheep, it”
From Intranasal Oxytocin: Myths and Delusions (2016) · cites this paper as [26]
In the citing paper
“Finally, Carter et al. 119 claimed a biological validation for the ELISA in reporting that breastfeeding in women lowered salivary concentrations of oxytocin. Because suckling‐induced oxytocin release is indispensable for milk let‐down in mammals 123, it is difficult to understand how such an anomalous observation qualifies as a validation.”
From Measuring Oxytocin and Vasopressin: Bioassays, Immunoassays and Random Numbers (2016) · cites this paper as [123]
In the citing paper
“There are indications for this in the context of labor during child birth (Russell et al., 2003), and this is hypothesized, for example, in the context of affiliation (Uvnäs-Moberg, 1998) and cooperation (see De Dreu, 2012).”
From Endogenous peripheral oxytocin measures can give insight into the dynamics of social relationships: a review (2014) · cites this paper as Russell et al., 2003
Citations
Cites
The structure of evolutionary theory
Gould, S. J. (2002) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.39-6411 · Cited by 2,764
Rothstein, J. D., Dykes-Hoberg, M., Pardo, C. A., Bristol, L. A., Jin, L., Kuncl, R. W., Kanai, Y., Hediger, M. A., Wang, Y., Schielke, J. P., et al. (1996) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(00)80086-0 · Cited by 2,534
Simerly, R. B., Swanson, L. W., Chang, C., & Muramatsu, M. (1990) · Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.902940107 · Cited by 2,118
Mountjoy, K. G., Mortrud, M. T., Low, M. J., Simerly, R. B., & Cone, R. D. (1994) · Molecular Endocrinology · doi:10.1210/mend.8.10.7854347 · Cited by 1,157
Sawchenko, P. E., & Swanson, L. W. (1982) · Brain Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/0165-0173(82)90010-8 · Cited by 1,141
Oxytocin is required for nursing but is not essential for parturition or reproductive behavior.
Nishimori, K., Young, L. J., Guo, Q., Wang, Z., Insel, T. R., & Matzuk, M. M. (1996) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.93.21.11699 · Cited by 734
Ericsson, A. B., Kovacs, K., & Sawchenko, P. E. (1994) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.14-02-00897.1994 · Cited by 679
Control of Glutamate Clearance and Synaptic Efficacy by Glial Coverage of Neurons
Oliet, S. H. R., Piet, R., & Poulain, D. A. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1059162 · Cited by 623
Failure of Parturition in Mice Lacking the Prostaglandin F Receptor
Sugimoto, Y., Yamasaki, A., Segi, E., Tsuboi, K., Aze, Y., Nishimura, T., Oida, H., Yoshida, N., Tanaka, T., Katsuyama, M., et al. (1997) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.277.5326.681 · Cited by 608
Distribution of estrogen receptor β immunoreactivity in the rat central nervous system
Shughrue, P. J., & Merchenthaler, I. J. (2001) · The Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.1054 · Cited by 490
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- Brunton, 2001, Endogenous opioids and attenuated neuroendocrine responses to immune challenge in pregnant rats, Soc. Neurosci. Abstracts, 27, 412.13
- Brunton, 2002, Reduced neuroendocrine stress responses to immune signals in pregnant rats, Stress, 5S
- A.J. Douglas, T. Birch, J.A. Russell, A role for noradrenaline in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) in parturition, WCNH 1999 Edinburgh Proceedings, Mon24, p. 86
- S.L. Langle, D.A. Poulain, D.T. Theodosis, Oxytocin induces rapid neuronal-glial and synaptic remodelling in the adult supraoptic nucleus in vitro, WCNH 2001 Bordeaux Proceedings, P2-2, P74
- K. Nishimori, Y. Takayanagi, Y. Sugimoto, M. Kawamata, K. Takeda, M. Matzuk, T. Kimura, Molecular-genetic analysis of oxytocin/oxytocin receptor/PGF2a receptor genes system in mice, WCNH 2001 Bordeaux Proceedings, S8-2
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Landgraf, R., & Neumann, I. D. (2004) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2004.05.001 · Cited by 1,059
Dendritic peptide release and peptide-dependent behaviours
Ludwig, M., & Leng, G. (2006) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn1845 · Cited by 945
Self-citationFeldman, R., Weller, A., Zagoory-Sharon, O., & Levine, A. (2007) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02010.x · Cited by 787
CD38 is critical for social behaviour by regulating oxytocin secretion
Jin, D., Liu, H.-X., Hirai, H., Torashima, T., Nagai, T., Lopatina, O., Shnayder, N. A., Yamada, K., Noda, M., Seike, T., et al. (2007) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature05526 · Cited by 665
Olff, M., Frijling, J. L., Kubzansky, L. D., Bradley, B., Ellenbogen, M. A., Cardoso, C., Bartz, J. A., Yee, J. R., & van Zuiden, M. (2013) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.06.019 · Cited by 620
Metadata
- Authors
- Russell, J. A., Leng, G., & Douglas, A. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Russell, John A
- ORCID
- Leng, Gareth
- Venue
- Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2003-01
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 27-61
- ISSN
- 0091-3022 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1972511187
- Cited by
- 295
- References
- 335
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 2.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › 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
- oxytocin, magnocellular neurons, childbirth, pregnancy, neurohypophysis, uterine contraction, positive feedback loop, brainstem, GABAergic inhibition, opioid inhibition, supraoptic nucleus, paraventricular nucleus, nitric oxide, relaxin, estrogen, birth spacing
- MeSH terms
- Action Potentials, Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Mice, Transgenic, Neurons, Nitric Oxide, Olfactory Bulb, Oxytocin, Pituitary Gland, Posterior, Pregnancy, Uterus, Opioid Peptides, Feedback, Physiological, Parturition, Mice, Rats
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
