OXYTOCIN, VASOPRESSIN & SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN NON HUMAN PRIMATES

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。最近的几项研究表明，中枢催产素和加压素通路对啮齿类动物的典型社会行为很重要。该项目通过研究正常和社交异常的恒河猴体内的催产素和抗利尿激素，将这项工作扩展到非人类灵长类动物。在本项目第一阶段计划使用的24只猴子被招募并按照建议在不同的饲养环境中饲养。我们已经完成了一组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测量，包括在挑战情况下的内分泌水平和心率。这些研究提供的证据表明，缺乏社会养育经验的猕猴表现出催产素、促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子和多巴胺能系统的缺陷。在实验动物和对照动物中，还进行了药理学研究，以检查系统给药的催产素和抗利尿激素拮抗剂对社会互动中激活的神经基质的影响。

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.