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Background: 5-HT1A receptor (5-HT1AR) abnormalities are implicated in aggression, and there has been considerable interest in developing 5-HT1AR agonists for treating aggression. Endogenous oxytocin (OXT) released upon stimulation of 5-HT1ARs in the hypothalamus mediates at least some of the effects of 5-HT1AR agonists on social behaviour. Aims: Given 5-HT1AR, OXT receptor (OXTR) and vasopressin V1a receptor (V1aR) agonists can all reduce aggression, the current study aimed to determine whether the anti-aggressive effects of 5-HT1AR stimulation can also be explained by downstream actions at OXTRs and/or V1aRs in a mouse model of non-territorial, hyper-aggressive behaviour. Methods: Male Swiss mice ( N=80) were socially isolated or group housed for six weeks prior to the start of testing. Testing involved placing two unfamiliar weight- and condition-matched mice together in a neutral context for 10 minutes. Results: Social isolation led to a pronounced increase in aggressive behaviour, which was dose-dependently inhibited by the 5-HT1AR agonist 8-OH-DPAT (0.1, 0.3 and 1 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.)), with accompanying increases in close social contact (huddling) and grooming. The effects of 8-OH-DPAT on aggression, huddling and grooming were blocked by pretreatment with a selective 5-HT1AR antagonist (WAY-100635; 0.1 mg/kg i.p.). The anti-aggressive effects of 8-OH-DPAT were unaffected by an OXTR antagonist (L-368,899; 10 mg/kg i.p.), whereas the effects on huddling and grooming were inhibited. Pretreatment with a V1aR antagonist (SR49059; 20 mg/kg i.p.) had no effect. Conclusions: Our study suggests that stimulation of endogenous oxytocin is involved in the effects of 5-HT1AR activation on close social contact and grooming but not aggression.

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A supersequence over a finite set is a sequence that contains as subsequence all permutations of the set. This paper defines an infinite array of methods to create supersequences of decreasing lengths. This yields the shortest known supersequences over larger sets. It also provides the best results asymptotically. It is based on a general proof using a new property called strong completeness. The same technique also can be used to prove existing supersequences which combines the old and new ones into an unified conceptual framework.