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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Assessing Cellular Stress and Inflammation in Discrete Oxytocin-secreting Brain Nuclei in the Neonatal Rat Before and After First Colostrum Feeding

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Published on: November 14, 2018

Switching brain serotonin with oxytocin.

Raphaelle Mottolese¹, Jérôme Redouté², Nicolas Costes³

¹Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5229, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 69675 Bron, France;University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69609 Lyon, France; and.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|June 10, 2014

Summary

Oxytocin (OXT) influences serotonin (5-HT) signaling in the brain. This study found OXT administration alters 5-HT1A receptor binding, suggesting a novel inhibitory role for OXT in mood and social behavior regulation.

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The Use of Pharmacological-challenge fMRI in Pre-clinical Research: Application to the 5-HT System

The Use of Pharmacological-challenge fMRI in Pre-clinical Research: Application to the 5-HT System

Published on: April 25, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychopharmacology
Neuroimaging

Background:

Serotonin (5-HT) and oxytocin (OXT) are key neuromodulators influencing human affect and social behavior.
Dysregulation in these systems is linked to mental health disorders like depression and autism.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the interaction between oxytocin and the serotonin system in regulating emotion-based behavior.
To map the cerebral 5-HT system's response to oxytocin administration in healthy human subjects.

Main Methods:

Administered OXT or placebo to 24 healthy participants.
Utilized [(18)F]MPPF, a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.
Quantified changes in 5-HT1A receptor binding potential (BPND) across brain regions.

Main Results:

OXT administration increased [(18)F]MPPF BPND in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), amygdala, hippocampus, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex.
Amygdala changes in 5-HT1A binding correlated with DRN changes, indicating a central role in OXT's regulation of 5-HT.
These brain regions form a circuit involved in stress, mood, and social behavior control.

Conclusions:

Revealed a novel inhibitory interaction where OXT modulates 5-HT signaling in the human brain.
This OXT-mediated regulation of 5-HT in key emotional circuits may offer new therapeutic avenues for mental disorders.