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      Sex-dependent regulation of social reward by oxytocin: an inverted U hypothesis

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          Abstract

          The rewarding properties of social interactions are essential for the expression of social behavior and the development of adaptive social relationships. Here, we review sex differences in social reward, and more specifically, how oxytocin (OT) acts in the mesolimbic dopamine system (MDS) to mediate the rewarding properties of social interactions in a sex-dependent manner. Evidence from rodents and humans suggests that same-sex social interactions may be more rewarding in females than in males. We propose that there is an inverted U relationship between OT dose, social reward, and neural activity within structures of the MDS in both males and females, and that this dose-response relationship is initiated at lower doses in females than males. As a result, depending on the dose of OT administered, OT could reduce social reward in females, while enhancing it in males. Sex differences in the neural mechanisms regulating social reward may contribute to sex differences in the incidence of a large number of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. This review addresses the potential significance of a sex-dependent inverted U dose-response function for OT's effects on social reward and in the development of gender-specific therapies for these disorders.

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          Most cited references146

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          Social reward requires coordinated activity of accumbens oxytocin and 5HT

          Social behaviors in species as diverse as honey bees and humans promote group survival but often come at some cost to the individual. Although reinforcement of adaptive social interactions is ostensibly required for the evolutionary persistence of these behaviors, the neural mechanisms by which social reward is encoded by the brain are largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that in mice oxytocin (OT) acts as a social reinforcement signal within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core, where it elicits a presynaptically expressed long-term depression of excitatory synaptic transmission in medium spiny neurons. Although the NAc receives OT receptor-containing inputs from several brain regions, genetic deletion of these receptors specifically from dorsal raphe nucleus, which provides serotonergic (5-HT) innervation to the NAc, abolishes the reinforcing properties of social interaction. Furthermore, OT-induced synaptic plasticity requires activation of NAc 5-HT1b receptors, the blockade of which prevents social reward. These results demonstrate that the rewarding properties of social interaction in mice require the coordinated activity of OT and 5-HT in the NAc, a mechanistic insight with implications for understanding the pathogenesis of social dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism.
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            Dopamine reward circuitry: two projection systems from the ventral midbrain to the nucleus accumbens-olfactory tubercle complex.

            Anatomical and functional refinements of the meso-limbic dopamine system of the rat are discussed. Present experiments suggest that dopaminergic neurons localized in the posteromedial ventral tegmental area (VTA) and central linear nucleus raphe selectively project to the ventromedial striatum (medial olfactory tubercle and medial nucleus accumbens shell), whereas the anteromedial VTA has few if any projections to the ventral striatum, and the lateral VTA largely projects to the ventrolateral striatum (accumbens core, lateral shell and lateral tubercle). These findings complement the recent behavioral findings that cocaine and amphetamine are more rewarding when administered into the ventromedial striatum than into the ventrolateral striatum. Drugs such as nicotine and opiates are more rewarding when administered into the posterior VTA or the central linear nucleus than into the anterior VTA. A review of the literature suggests that (1) the midbrain has corresponding zones for the accumbens core and medial shell; (2) the striatal portion of the olfactory tubercle is a ventral extension of the nucleus accumbens shell; and (3) a model of two dopamine projection systems from the ventral midbrain to the ventral striatum is useful for understanding reward function. The medial projection system is important in the regulation of arousal characterized by affect and drive and plays a different role in goal-directed learning than the lateral projection system, as described in the variation-selection hypothesis of striatal functional organization.
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              The vertebrate mesolimbic reward system and social behavior network: a comparative synthesis.

              All animals evaluate the salience of external stimuli and integrate them with internal physiological information into adaptive behavior. Natural and sexual selection impinge on these processes, yet our understanding of behavioral decision-making mechanisms and their evolution is still very limited. Insights from mammals indicate that two neural circuits are of crucial importance in this context: the social behavior network and the mesolimbic reward system. Here we review evidence from neurochemical, tract-tracing, developmental, and functional lesion/stimulation studies that delineates homology relationships for most of the nodes of these two circuits across the five major vertebrate lineages: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and teleost fish. We provide for the first time a comprehensive comparative analysis of the two neural circuits and conclude that they were already present in early vertebrates. We also propose that these circuits form a larger social decision-making (SDM) network that regulates adaptive behavior. Our synthesis thus provides an important foundation for understanding the evolution of the neural mechanisms underlying reward processing and behavioral regulation. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Neuropsychopharmacology
                Neuropsychopharmacol
                Springer Nature
                0893-133X
                1740-634X
                June 23 2018
                Article
                10.1038/s41386-018-0129-2
                6235847
                29968846
                50102b08-6384-4ce8-b61a-a56d7a6949f4
                © 2018

                http://www.springer.com/tdm

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