Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 25, Issue 50, Pages 11637-11644Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3604-05.2005
Keywords
imaging; somatosensory; oxytocin; olfactory; maternal; lactation
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Funding
- NIDA NIH HHS [R01 DA13517, R01 DA013517] Funding Source: Medline
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Oxytocin is released in the maternal brain during breastfeeding and may help strengthen the mother-infant relationship. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine whether oxytocin modulates brain activity in postpartum day 4-8 dams receiving suckling stimulation. During imaging sessions, dams were exposed to pup suckling before and after administration of an oxytocin receptor antagonist. Another group of dams received oxytocin alone. Changes in brain activation in response to suckling closely matched that elicited by oxytocin administration. The overlapping brain areas included the olfactory system, nucleus accumbens, insular cortex, prefrontal cortex, ventral tegmental area, cortical amygdala, and several cortical and hypothalamic nuclei. Blockade of oxytocin receptors largely attenuated activation in these regions. The data suggest that oxytocin may strengthen mother-infant bond formation partly by acting through brain areas involved in regulating olfactory discrimination, emotions, and reward.
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