A study of the role of the central oxytocin system in animal-human bond: focus on domesticated Russian sivler foxes and rats.

中枢催产素系统在动物与人类关系中作用的研究：重点关注驯化的俄罗斯银狐和老鼠。

• 批准号: 444944116
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Valery Grinevich
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Russian Science Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/444944116?language=en
• 关键词: study; role; central; oxytocin; system

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) facilitates intraspecific social contacts in mammals via various mechanisms, ranging from the suppression of neuroendocrine stress responses to the direct OT action on neurons of socially relevant brain regions. Recent reports indicated the possible contribution of OT in the formation of the social bond between domesticated mammals (dog, sheep, cattle) and humans. Indeed, social interaction between a domesticated animal and a human resulted in the elevation of peripheral OT levels (in blood, saliva or urine) and exogenous (intranasal) OT application led to more frequent contacts between an owner and a domesticated animal. However, the activity of the endogenous OT system and the effects of OT in early life (the day of birth) on the process of domestication have not been studied. To address these questions, we will primarily employ Russian silver foxes, which were domesticated by 60 years of selective breeding. Their progenitors were captured in 1885 in Canada for fur farming and for many decades were kept in similar cage conditions at the farm. In adult foxes, we will compare the peripheral OT levels, anatomy of the OT system and OT receptor binding (OT, V1a and V1b receptors) in the brains of wild, aggressive and domesticated foxes. Further, newborn foxes will receive i.p. OT injection followed by monitoring their social behavior in adulthood accompanied by analysis of plasma OT concentrations and anatomy of the OT system. Due to the limitation of the implication of invasive methods to foxes, the second subject of our study will be rats, which were selected for tame and aggressive behaviors towards humans. In these rats, we will use viral vectors to manipulate the activity of OT neurons by pharmacogenetic means and also will employ brain-region specific OT receptor overexpression to monitor their social behavior with conspecifics and humans. In our project, we expect to assess the role of OT signaling in the behavioral phenotypes of domesticated foxes and rats, which may underlie a mechanism of empathy between domesticated animals and humans that was established in the course of their co-evolution during the last 14.000-16.000 years.

神经肽催产素（OT）通过各种机制促进哺乳动物的种内社会接触，从抑制神经内分泌应激反应到直接OT作用于社会相关脑区的神经元。最近的报告表明，OT可能有助于驯化哺乳动物（狗，羊，牛）和人类之间的社会纽带的形成。事实上，家养动物和人类之间的社会互动导致外周OT水平（血液，唾液或尿液）升高，外源性（鼻内）OT应用导致主人和家养动物之间更频繁的接触。然而，内源性OT系统的活动和OT在生命早期（出生当天）对驯化过程的影响尚未得到研究。为了解决这些问题，我们将主要采用俄罗斯银狐，这是通过60年的选择性育种驯化。它们的祖先于1885年在加拿大被捕获用于毛皮养殖，几十年来一直被饲养在农场的类似笼子里。在成年狐狸，我们将比较外周OT水平，OT系统的解剖和OT受体结合（OT，V1 a和V1 b受体）在野生，侵略性和驯养狐狸的大脑。此外，新生狐狸将接受i. p. OT注射，然后监测它们成年后的社会行为，并分析血浆OT浓度和OT系统的解剖结构。由于对狐狸的侵入性方法的影响有限，我们研究的第二个主题将是大鼠，这是对人类的驯服和攻击行为的选择。在这些大鼠中，我们将使用病毒载体通过药物遗传学手段来操纵OT神经元的活性，并且还将采用脑区域特异性OT受体过表达来监测它们与同种和人类的社会行为。在我们的项目中，我们希望评估OT信号在驯养狐狸和大鼠行为表型中的作用，这可能是驯养动物和人类之间共情机制的基础，这种机制是在过去14000 - 16000年的共同进化过程中建立的。