OXYTOCIN, VASOPRESSIN & SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN NON HUMAN PRIMATES

该子项目是利用NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为中心机构，不一定是研究者机构。最近的一些研究表明，中枢催产素和加压素途径是重要的物种典型的啮齿动物的社会行为。这个项目通过研究正常和社会异常的恒河猴的催产素和加压素，将这项工作扩展到非人类灵长类动物。招募了计划用于本项目第一阶段的24只猴，并将其圈养在拟定的差异饲养环境中。我们已经完成了在一组12只猴子的神经解剖学研究的初始阶段，并已进展到几种神经肽受体模式的分析。在剩下的队列中，我们继续研究社会和情感行为以及社会认知。此外，我们已经开始研究情绪的生理措施，包括内分泌水平和挑战情况下的心率曲线。这些研究提供的证据表明，剥夺社会养育经验的猕猴表现出不足的催产素，促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子和多巴胺能系统。还进行了药理学研究，以检查全身施用催产素和加压素拮抗剂对我们的实验动物和对照动物之间的社会互动期间激活的神经底物的影响。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Several recent studies have demonstrated that central oxytocin and vasopressin pathways are important for species typical social behaviors in rodents. This project extends this work to non-human primates by investigating oxytocin and vasopressin in both normal and socially abnormal rhesus monkeys. Twenty-four monkeys scheduled for use in the first phase of this project were recruited and housed in differential rearing environments as proposed. We have completed the initial phase of neuroanatomical studies in one cohort of 12 monkeys and have progressed to analysis of several neuropeptide receptor patterns. In the remaining cohort, we continue studies of social and emotional behavior and social cognition. In addition, we have begun studies of physiological measures of emotionality including endocrine levels and heart rate profiles during challenge situations. These studies have provided evidence that macaques with deprived social rearing experiences exhibit deficits in oxyocin, corticotropin-releasing factor and dopaminergic systems. Pharmacological studies have also been performed to examine the influence of systemically administered oxytocin and vasopressin antagonists on neural substrates activated during social interactions among our experimental and control animals.