Apart from its role during labor and lactation, oxytocin is involved in several other functions. Interestingly, oxytocin- and oxytocin receptor-deficient mice develop late-onset obesity with normal food intake, suggesting that the hormone might exert a series of beneficial metabolic effects. This was recently confirmed by data showing that central oxytocin infusion causes weight loss in diet-in...

Long-term exposure to fluoxetine produces a desensitization of hypothalamic postsynaptic 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)1A receptors, indicated by a substantial inhibition of the 5-HT1A receptor-mediated stimulation of oxytocin and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion. The present study investigated the time course and mechanism of this desensitization after discontinuation of fluoxetine adm...

Accumulation of continuous life stress (chronic stress) often causes gastric symptoms. Although central oxytocin has antistress effects, the role of central oxytocin in stress-induced gastric dysmotility remains unknown. Solid gastric emptying was measured in rats receiving acute restraint stress, 5 consecutive days of repeated restraint stress (chronic homotypic stress), and 7 consecutive days...

An imbalance between serotonin-2A (5-HT2A) and 5-HT1A receptors may underlie several mood disorders. The present studies determined whether 5-HT2A receptors interact with 5-HT1A receptors in the rat hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). The sensitivity of the hypothalamic 5-HT1A receptors was measured as oxytocin and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) responses to the 5-HT1A receptor agon...

background: oxytocin (ot) is a paracrine hormone with various biological activities and many sex organs in both sexes, as well as many tumor cells have shown to have related receptors. in this study the development of a receptor imaging tracer for possible tumor imaging has been described. materials and methods: ot was successively labeled with [67ga]-gallium chloride after conjugation with fre...

INTRODUCTION The central nucleus of amygdala plays an important role mediating fear and anxiety responses. It is known that oxytocin microinjections into the central nucleus of amygdala induce hypergrooming, an experimental model of compulsive behavior. We evaluated the behavioral and cardiorespiratory responses of conscious rats microinjected with oxytocin into the central nucleus of amygdala....

Oxytocin is one of the most ancient mammalian hormones in terms phylogeny. Over more than 100-year history his scientific study, views on biological functions oxytocin humans have undergone a significant and even revolutionary changes. For long time, this neurohypophysis hormone, which formed hypothalamus only deposited it (central synthesis), was associated exclusively with female reproduction...

BACKGROUND Oxytocin and its receptor have been found throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, where it affects gut function. Clinically, we have noticed an improvement of bowel habits during lactation in constipated women. The aim of this study was to examine whether oxytocin has an effect on bowel symptoms and psychological well being in women with refractory constipation. METHODS Fifty-n...

The aim of this study was to investigate the action of opioids (the mu receptor agonist morphine) and the antagonist naloxone on inhibition of oxytocin release and milk let-down in response to milking in dairy cows. In the first experiment, cows were injected with 0, 21, 70 and 210 mg morphine 10 min before milking on four successive days. Plasma oxytocin levels after 1 min manual stimulation o...