Oxytocin suppresses basal glutamatergic transmission but facilitates activity-dependent synaptic potentiation in the medial prefrontal cortex

Both oxytocin and oxytocin receptors are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly autism which involves a severe deficit in social cognition. Consistently, oxytocin enhances social cognition in humans and animals. The infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex (IL-mPFC) is believed to play an important role in the regulation of social cognition which might involve top-down control of subcortical structures including the amygdala. However, little is known about whether and how oxytocin modulates synaptic function in the IL-mPFC. The effect of oxytocin on excitatory neurotransmission in the IL-mPFC was studied by examining both the evoked and spontaneous excitatory neurotransmission in the IL-mPFC layer V pyramidal neurons before and after perfusion with oxytocin. To investigate the effect of oxytocin on synaptic plasticity, low-frequency stimulation-induced long-lasting depression was studied in oxytocin-treated brain slices. Oxytocin produced a significant suppression of glutamatergic neurotransmission in the IL-mPFC layer V pyramidal neurons which was mediated by a reduction in glutamate release. Activation of the cannabinoid CB1 receptors was involved in this pre-synaptic effect. Treatment of brain slices with oxytocin for 1 h converted long-lasting depression into long-lasting potentiation of glutamatergic neurotransmission. This oxytocin-mediated plasticity was NMDA receptor-dependent and was mediated by the synaptic insertion of calcium-permeable alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptors. The aforementioned suppression of basal glutamatergic neurotransmission and facilitation of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in the IL-mPFC might be critical for the effect of oxytocin on social cognition.