Oxytocin induces morphological plasticity in the adult hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system

The hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system offers a unique example in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) of a functional and structural plasticity related to a physiological state. During lactation, oxytocin neurones evolve a synchronized electrical activation which permits pulsatile hormone release at milk ejection. At the same time, in the supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular nuclei, glial coverage of neurones diminishes, so that large portions of their surface membrane become directly juxtaposed; synaptic remodelling also associates pairs of neurones through the formation of common presynaptic terminals. These structural changes, reversible after weaning, affect exclusively oxytocinergic neurones and could facilitate their synchronized electrical activity. As several observations suggest that oxytocin itself is released centrally, we have examined the effect of prolonged intracerebroventricular infusions of oxytocin on the structure of the SON of non-lactating animals. We report here that the peptide indeed engenders the structural reorganization characteristic of the oxytocin system when it is physiologically activated. Similar infusion of vasopressin has no effect. Our observations thus demonstrate that a central neuropeptide can induce anatomical changes in the adult CNS, and suggest that oxytocin can regulate its own release by contributing to the dramatic restructuring of the nuclei containing the neurones responsible for its secretion.