Roles of neurohypophyseal hormones in the control of social behaviour: site-specific and time-dependent functions

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H04026
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental physiology(including physical medicine and nutritional physiology)
• Research Institution: Jichi Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Onaka Tatsushi 自治医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (90177254)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: オキシトシン / ストレス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Oxytocin has been shown to have anxiolytic actions and facilitate affiliative behaviors. On the other hand, oxytocin has also been reported to potentiate neuroendocrine stress responses and induce aggressive behavior in some certain conditions. The apparent discrepant data remain to be explained. The objective of the preset study was to determine whether oxytocin systems have heterogeneity and different oxytocin systems meditate different stress responses dependent on situations. The present study suggests that oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the insular and/or medial amygdala are involved in affiliative behavior in affiliative conditions, while oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus and/or periaqueductal gray are involved in active stress coping behaviors in social defeat stress.

Free Research Field

神経内分泌、環境生理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

オキシトシン系は単一ではなく多様で、相反する行動を制御することを見出した。この多様性のおかげで、オキシトシンは様々な社会的な状況下において、それぞれの状況に適した多様で積極的なストレス対処行動の選択に寄与するという可能性が出てきた。このオキシトシンの作用は、社会行動異常に対する治療薬の候補として考える際に考慮すべき点である。さらに、本研究で用いた細胞選択的な活動操作法は、他の研究領域においても応用できる。