Neuroscience Seminar Series - Dr. Eastman Lewis '08

Dr. Eastman Lewis '08; Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University

Circuit mapping of oxytocin neuronal subtypes: Evidence for parallel processing in the social brain

For nearly a century, it has been recognized that oxytocin (OT) neurons comprise two distinct neuronal subtypes, magnocellular and parvocellular. It has been argued that social behaviors are mediated exclusively by magnocellular neurons, while parvocellular neurons regulate other functions (e.g. cardiovascular, analgesic, feeding). Our finding here that the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) receives an exclusively parvocellular OTergic input overturns this view, because OT receptors in the NAc are required for social reward learning. This finding is significant for the design of OT-based therapies for autism, because parvocellular OT neurons are probably the appropriate target to treat social impairments that characterize autism.

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