Oxytocin Modulation of Neural Circuit Function and Behavior

催产素是一种从下丘脑合成和释放的多肽激素，用于生殖和母体 行为。最近的研究表明，催产素是一种“信任”荷尔蒙，有望改善老年人的社会缺陷 各种精神障碍，如自闭症。尽管人们对催产素充满热情，但矛盾的结果是 催产素在改善人类社会行为方面的疗效已有报道。文学中的这种不一致是 可能是因为我们对催产素作用的复杂性缺乏了解，催产素的作用可能会随着行为状态的不同而变化， 经验和大脑结构。我们认为，更好地理解催产素的内源性作用是 释放这种高度进化保守的神经肽的治疗潜力的关键。推进我们的 理解需要由一组调查人员进行跨层次和跨学科的比较研究， 重叠的兴趣和技术能力，以跨分子，生理， 系统行为和级别。这包括多种动物之间的相互作用，因为许多精神障碍是有影响的。 在整个生命周期和整个大脑中对社会行为的影响。催产素在母体大脑中的作用尤其明显 这很重要，因为它代表了催产素在社会背景下最古老和最重要的功能。 为此，纽约大学医学院提出的大脑倡议项目名为“催产素调节” 神经回路功能和行为“包括四个相互关联的项目和四个核心设施，包括 管理核心、数据科学核心、行为光遗传学核心和催产素受体 抗体生产核心。四个项目和核心的总体目标是实现更好的 对催产素在社会空间行为中的调节的理解，我们将其定义为 特定的背景或行为环境。我们的团队将联合起来解决双方的催产素系统 来源(催产素神经元)和接收端(表达催产素受体的神经元)， 项目1和2将讨论连接性、行为影响、体内反应、释放和体验- 催产素神经元的依赖性变化。在接收端，项目3将深入到详细的蜂窝， 调节催产素作用的突触和微电路机制。最后，项目4将结合 从项目1、2和3开发的知识和技术用于研究状态依赖的催产素 对攻击行为至关重要的大脑部位的攻击行为的调节，这是大脑的腹外侧部 下丘脑腹内侧核(VMHvl)。有趣的是，在VMHvl附近发现了一组催产素神经元， 可能提供催产素的局部来源，尽管其行为相关性目前尚不清楚。同舟共济 这些项目和核心开发新工具，使用尖端技术和大规模方法来提供 深入描述母体社会空间行为的神经回路。

Oxytocin is a peptide hormone synthesized and released from the hypothalamus for reproduction and maternal behavior. Recent studies have tagged oxytocin as a “trust” hormone, promising to improve social deficits in various mental disorders, such as autism. Despite the enthusiasm for oxytocin, contradictory results in the efficacy of oxytocin in improving human social behaviors have been reported. Such inconsistency in literature is likely due to our poor understanding of complexity of oxytocin action, which likely varies with behavioral state, experience and brain structures. We believe that a better understanding of the endogenous action of oxytocin is the key to unleash the therapeutic potential of this highly evolutionary conserved neuropeptide. Advancing our understanding requires cross-level and comparative inter-disciplinary studies by a group of investigators with overlapping interests and the technical capability to analyze oxytocin signaling across molecular, physiological, systems behavioral and levels. This includes multi-animal interactions, as many mental disorders are impactful on social behavior, over the lifespan and throughout the brain. Oxytocin action in maternal brain is especially important as it represents the most ancient and important function of oxytocin under a social context. To these ends, the proposed Brain Initiative Project in NYU School of Medicine on “Oxytocin Modulation of Neural Circuit Function and Behavior” consists of four inter-related Projects and four Core facilities, including an Administrative Core, a Data Science Core, a Behavioral Optogenetics Core, and an Oxytocin Receptor Antibody Production Core. The overarching goal of the four Projects and the Cores is to achieve a better understanding of the oxytocin modulation in socio-spatial behaviors, which we define as social interactions within a specific context or behavioral environment. Our team will join forces to tackle the oxytocin system from both the source (oxytocin neurons) and the receiving ends (oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons) From the source, Project 1 and 2 will address the connectivity, behavioral influence, in vivo responses, release and experience- dependent changes of the oxytocin neurons. From the receiving ends, Project 3 will dive into detailed cellular, synaptic and microcircuit mechanisms that mediate the oxytocin actions. Lastly, Project 4 will combine the knowledge and techniques developed from Projects 1, 2, and 3 to investigate the state-dependent oxytocin modulation of aggressive behaviors at a brain site essential for aggression, the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl). Intriguingly, a group of oxytocin neurons are found neighboring the VMHvl, potentially providing a local source of oxytocin although its behavioral relevance is currently unknown. Together these Projects and Cores develop new tools, use cutting-edge techniques, and large-scale methods to provide an in-depth description of the neural circuitry for maternal socio-spatial behavior.