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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

A System for Tracking the Dynamics of Social Preference Behavior in Small Rodents
Published on: November 21, 2019
Neurobiology of sociability
1Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology and Behavior, Department of Biological Sciences and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Ohio, USA. hcaldwel@kent.edu
Abstract:
Sociability consists of behaviors that bring animals together and those that keep animals apart. Remarkably, while the neural circuitry that regulates these two "faces" of sociability differ from one another, two neurohormones, oxytocin (Oxt) and vasopressin (Avp), have been consistently implicated in the regulation of both. In this chapter the the structure and function of the Oxt and Avp systems, the ways in which affiliative and aggressive behavior are studied and the roles of Oxt and Avp in the regulation of sociability will be briefly reviewed. Finally, work implicating Oxt and Avp in sociability in humans, with a focus on neuropsychiatric disorders will be highlighted.
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