Estrogen effects on oxytocinergic pathways that regulate food intake.

Multiple stimulatory and inhibitory neural circuits control eating, and these circuits are influenced by an array of hormonal, neuropeptide, and neurotransmitter signals. For example, estrogen and oxytocin (OT) both are known to decrease food intake, but the mechanisms by which these signal molecules influence eating are not fully understood. These studies investigated the interaction between estrogen and OT in the control of food intake.