Effects of neonatal oxytocin treatment on aggression and neural activities in mandarin voles

Neonatal manipulation of oxytocin (OT) has long-term effects on behavior and physiology. Here we test the hypothesis that neonatal OT treatment can affect the subsequent expression of intrasexual aggression partly by reprogramming the neural activities of relevant brain regions. To test this hypothesis, mandarin voles (Lasiopodomys mandarinus) received OT or isotonic saline treatment within 24 h of birth. At about 75 days of age, aggressive behaviors and Fos expression in different brain regions were tested. The results indicate that the (1) level of intrasexual aggression was higher and other social contact was lower in SAL-treated sexually naïve males than in females and; (2) OT-treated females showed a greater increase in aggressive behaviors and Fos expression only after exposure to a male than SAL-treated females, but there were no significant changes in aggressive behaviors in males. These results demonstrate a sexual difference in aggression, and that neonatal exposure to OT may increase aggression in female mandarin voles. These effects may be based on changes in neural activities of relevant brain regions including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), lateral septal nucleus (LS), medial preoptic area (MPOA), the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), supraoptic nucleus (SON), mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD), ventromedial nucleus of hypothalamic (VMH), the medial amygdala (MeA) and central amygdala (CeA).