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Acute Restraint Stress Enhances Prosocial Behavior in Rats via Oxytocin and Fear-Related Circuits
Sheng-Chiang Wang1,2, Chen-Cheng Lin3, Chun-Chuan Chen3
1Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, 114 Taipei.
Journal of Integrative Neuroscience
|April 30, 2025
Summary
Acute restraint stress increases prosocial behavior in rats, an effect mediated by oxytocin and corticotropin-releasing hormone systems. Oxytocin influences stress-related neurochemical changes in the medial prefrontal cortex, impacting social choices.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Stress significantly impacts social behavior, with oxytocin known to buffer stress and promote social bonding.
- The interplay between stress-induced fear and oxytocin's role in sociability, especially in stressful contexts, requires further elucidation.
- This study explores how acute restraint stress (ARS) affects anxiety and prosocial behaviors, and if oxytocin and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) systems can modulate these effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of acute restraint stress on anxiety-related and prosocial behaviors in rats.
- To determine if oxytocin receptor antagonist (L-368899) and CRH receptor antagonist (antalarmin) can modulate stress-induced behavioral changes.
- To analyze stress-related neurochemical alterations in key brain regions involved in fear and social behavior.
Main Methods:
- Rats underwent acute restraint stress (ARS) and were assessed using the elevated T-maze (ETM) for anxiety and the social choice test (SCT) for prosocial behavior.
- Pharmacological interventions included the oxytocin receptor antagonist L-368899 and the CRH receptor antagonist antalarmin.
- Neurochemical analysis measured plasma corticosterone, and tissue concentrations of serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and norepinephrine (NE) in the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and amygdala.
Main Results:
- ARS significantly increased prosocial preference, an effect abolished by L-368899 or antalarmin.
- ARS rats showed reduced corticosterone levels, decreased avoidance latency, and increased escape latency on the ETM.
- ARS led to decreased DA and increased NE in the mPFC, with L-368899 normalizing these levels.
Conclusions:
- Oxytocin plays a crucial role in modulating stress-induced changes in monoaminergic activity within the mPFC, thereby influencing social choice behavior.
- These findings offer novel insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of stress-related sociability.
- The study highlights the context-dependent function of oxytocin in fear memory and social behavior regulation.
