论文
论文标题：Oxytocin neurons enable social transmission of maternal behaviour
作者：Carcea, Ioana, Caraballo, Naomi López, Marlin, Bianca J., Ooyama, Rumi, Riceberg, Justin S., Mendoza Navarro, Joyce M., Opendak, Maya, Diaz, Veronica E., Schuster, Luisa, Alvarado Torres, Maria I., Lethin, Harper, Ramos, Daniel, Minder, Jessica, Mendoza, Sebastian L., Bair-Marshall, Chloe J., Samadjopoulos, Grace H., Hidema, Shizu, Falkner, Annegret, Lin, Dayu, Mar, Adam, Wadghiri, Youssef Z., Nishimori, Katsuhiko, Kikusui, Takefumi, Mogi, Kazutaka, Sullivan, Regina M., Froemke, Robert C.
期刊：Nature
发表时间：2021/08/11
数字识别码：10.1038/s41586-021-03814-7
摘要：Maternal care, including by non-biological parents, is important for offspring survival1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Oxytocin1,2,9,10,11,12,13,14,15, which is released by the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), is a critical maternal hormone. In mice, oxytocin enables neuroplasticity in the auditory cortex for maternal recognition of pup distress15. However, it is unclear how initial parental experience promotes hypothalamic signalling and cortical plasticity for reliable maternal care. Here we continuously monitored the behaviour of female virgin mice co-housed with an experienced mother and litter. This documentary approach was synchronized with neural recordings from the virgin PVN, including oxytocin neurons. These cells were activated as virgins were enlisted in maternal care by experienced mothers, who shepherded virgins into the nest and demonstrated pup retrieval. Virgins visually observed maternal retrieval, which activated PVN oxytocin neurons and promoted alloparenting. Thus rodents can acquire maternal behaviour by social transmission, providing a mechanism for adapting the brains of adult caregivers to infant needs via endogenous oxytocin.
2021年8月11日，来自美国纽约大学医学院的Robert C. Froemke团队等多个团队在Nature杂志上合作发表了一篇题为 Oxytocin neurons enable social transmission of maternal behaviour 的文章，在这项研究中，作者构建一个集成系统，通过不断监测与母亲及其幼崽共同饲养的未育雌鼠的行为，并同步记录PVN神经活动，证明未育雌鼠通过观察母性行为激活PVN催产素神经元并促进异母养育行为的发生。
