Interplay between Oxytocin and Sensory Systems in the Orchestration of Socio-Emotional Behaviors

Abstract

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) attracts the interest of neuroscientists, psychologists, and psychiatrists due to its capacity to modulate emotional and social behavior. Although much has been published on the effects of OT on brain regions and mechanisms at the core of these processes, its role in sensory processing, so important for detecting social context with sufficient accuracy and sensitivity, has been much less studied. In the present review, we summarize evidence for OT modulation of sensory processing and, conversely, effects of sensory input on endogenous OT signaling. We concentrate on mammals, aiming to provide a systematic analysis of the current knowledge on this reciprocal regulation and the role it may play in social and emotional behaviors.

Role of oxytocin in the control of stress and food intake

“…Oxytocin has been reported in rodents to be indispensable for induction of odour-driven social avoidance from parasitised individuals 252 or odour-dependent learning, although not that of non-social learning, 253 which is either appetitive or aversive, via acting on the medial amygdala, piriform cortex, and anterior olfactory cortex, where olfactory sensory information is processed. 257 Oxytocin has been shown to enhance eye gaze between humans 69 and between dogs and their owners. 69,246,254 Consistent with the idea that oxytocin facilitates sensory processing of socially relevant stimuli, the oxytocin receptor is located densely in the olfactory system in rodents, 255 whereas the oxytocin receptor is abundantly located in the visual system or visual attention-related systems including the superior colliculus and nucleus basalis of Meynert in primates.…”

“…256 Oxytocin may modulate most relevant sensory systems to regulate social behaviour dependent on species. 257 Oxytocin has been shown to enhance eye gaze between humans 69 and between dogs and their owners. 258 Oxytocin administration in humans has also been shown to enhance recognition of emotion expressed in faces that are either fearful or happy.…”

Reconstruction of the Hypothalamo-Neurohypophysial System and Functional Dissection of Magnocellular Oxytocin Neurons in the Brain

“…On the other hand, accumulating evidence demonstrate that central OXT and AVP are involved in the regulation of various social and stress related behaviors in the brain (Grinevich and Stoop, 2018;Jurek and Neumann, 2018;Onaka et al, 2012;). Moreover, defects in the oxytocinergic system is found associated with mental diseases such as autism and anxiety-related disorders (Andari et al, 2010;Hollander et al, 2007;Windle et al, 1997).…”

Oxytocin receptor gene loss influences expression of the oxytocin gene in C57BL/6J mice in a sex‐ and age‐dependent manner

“…The oxytocin (OXT) system has been hypothesised to act as both a mediator (effector) and target of early life experiences . As an effector, OXT may facilitate the acquisition of socially salient information in the neonatal environment,; specifically, sensory experiences in a social context, as demonstrated in adults . As a target, the activity and/or development of the OXT system can be altered by early life experiences.…”

“…1,2 As an effector, OXT may facilitate the acquisition of socially salient information in the neonatal environment, 3,4 ; specifically, sensory experiences in a social context, as demonstrated in adults. [5][6][7] As a target, the activity and/or development of the OXT system can be altered by early life experiences. Although the neural mechanisms of the effector and target roles of OXT in social development are unclear, these roles may be linked in a feedforward virtuous cycle: some enriched early experiences may lead to enhancement of infant OXT production, which could be used to further encode the social environment during developmental sensitive periods for attachment and socialisation.…”