Abstract
BDNF-oxytocin interactions in the brain are implicated in mammalian maternal behavior. We found that BDNF gene expression is increased in the hippocampus of rat mothers that show increased pup licking/grooming (high LG mothers) compared to low LG mothers. High LG mothers also showed increased BDNF protein levels in the nucleus accumbens (nAcc). Immunoneutralization of BDNF in the nAcc eliminated the differences in pup LG between high and low LG mothers. Oxytocin antagonist in the ventral hippocampus significantly decreased the frequency of maternal LG behavior. Oxytocin antagonist significantly prevented the oxytocin-induced BDNF gene expression in primary hippocampal cell cultures. We suggest that oxytocin-induced regulation of BDNF in the nAcc provides a neuroendocrine basis for both individual differences in maternal behavior and resilience to the stress of reproduction in female mammals.
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Abbreviations
- BDNF:
-
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
- B2M:
-
Beta-2 microglobulin
- FBS:
-
Fetal bovine serum
- LG:
-
Licking/grooming
- nAcc:
-
Nucleus accumbens
- OT:
-
Oxytocin
- OTA:
-
[β-Mercapto-β,β cyclopentamethylenepropionyl1, O-Me-Tyr2, Orn8]- Oxytocin
- PBS:
-
Phosphate buffer saline
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
- SEM:
-
Standard error of the mean
- Veh:
-
Vehicle
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This research was supported by grants from the Hope for Depression Research Foundation and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research to MJM, by grants from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to TYZ.
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TYZ, DS, ICH, XLW, JD, and CC performed all experiments, which were designed by TYZ, DS, ICH, JD, and MJM. TYZ, DS, ICH, and MJM analyzed the data and prepared the manuscript.
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All procedures were performed according to the guidelines from the Canadian Council on Animal Care and approved by the McGill University Animal Care Committee.
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Zhang, TY., Shahrokh, D., Hellstrom, I.C. et al. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in the Nucleus Accumbens Mediates Individual Differences in Behavioral Responses to a Natural, Social Reward. Mol Neurobiol 57, 290–301 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-019-01699-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-019-01699-2