Long range projections of oxytocin neurons in the marmoset brain.
Arthur LefevreJazlynn MezaCory T MillerPublished in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology (2024)
The neurohormone oxytocin (OT) has become a major target for the development of novel therapeutic strategies to treat psychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder because of its integral role in governing many facets of mammalian social behavior. Whereas extensive work in rodents has produced much of our knowledge of OT, we lack basic information about its neurobiology in primates making it difficult to interpret the limited effects that OT manipulations have had in human patients. In fact, previous studies have revealed only limited OT fibers in primate brains. Here, we investigated the OT connectome in marmoset using immunohistochemistry, and mapped OT fibers throughout the brains of adult male and female marmoset monkeys. We found extensive OT projections reaching limbic and cortical areas that are involved in the regulation of social behaviors, such as the amygdala, the medial prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia. The pattern of OT fibers observed in marmosets is notably similar to the OT connectomes described in rodents. Our findings here contrast with previous results by demonstrating a broad distribution of OT throughout the marmoset brain. Given the prevalence of this neurohormone in the primate brain, methods developed in rodents to manipulate endogenous OT are likely to be applicable in marmosets.
Keyphrases
- resting state
- autism spectrum disorder
- healthcare
- prefrontal cortex
- white matter
- functional connectivity
- mental health
- endothelial cells
- end stage renal disease
- magnetic resonance
- magnetic resonance imaging
- multiple sclerosis
- newly diagnosed
- computed tomography
- spinal cord injury
- single cell
- health information
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- peritoneal dialysis
- young adults
- high resolution
- prognostic factors
- brain injury
- temporal lobe epilepsy