Oxytocin's effect on brain activity in postnatal mice

Oxytocin (OXT) is a hormone known to play a role in social behavior. OXT administration is a promising medical treatment for social disorders and is currently being tested in children. However, understanding the brain mechanisms responsible for these behavioral effects is crucial for oxytocin to be an appropriate treatment option, especially during development. To examine the effect of OXT, postnatal day 0 (P0) Oxtr-EGFP mice were given an oral administration of either a low dose of 1.56pg OXT to represent the amount of OXT found in their “mother’s milk”, a high dose of 1.25ng OXT to represent the amount of OXT found in a clinical dose, or a dose of saline to act as a control. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the average number of c-Fos cells per facial nucleus area between the three treatment groups based on sex, OXT dose, EGFP genotype, sex x OXT dose, or EGFP genotype x dose. Although the facial nucleus showed no effect of orally applied OXT in Oxtr-EGFP P0 mice, many other regions in the brainstem expressed c-Fos immunoreactive cells and will be quantified in the future.