Neuropeptide therapeutics to repress lateral septum neurons that disable sociability in an autism mouse model.

Confronting oxytocin and vasopressin deficits in autism spectrum disorders and rare syndromes brought promises and disappointments for the treatment of social disabilities. We searched downstream of oxytocin and vasopressin for targets alleviating social deficits in a mouse model of Prader-Willi syndrome and Schaaf-Yang syndrome, both associated with high prevalence of autism. We found a population of neurons in the lateral septum-activated on termination of social contacts-which oxytocin and vasopressin inhibit as per degree of peer affiliation.

Disengagement of somatostatin neurons from lateral septum circuitry by oxytocin and vasopressin restores social-fear extinction and suppresses aggression outbursts in Prader-Willi syndrome model.

Background: Responding to social signals by expressing the correct behavior is not only challenged in autism, but also in diseases with high prevalence of autism, like Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Clinical evidence suggests aberrant pro-social behavior in patients can be regulated by intranasal oxytocin (OXT) or vasopressin (AVP). However, what neuronal mechanisms underlie impaired behavioral responses in a socially-aversive context, and how can they be corrected, remains largely unknown.

Oxytocin receptors in the Magel2 mouse model of autism: Specific region, age, sex and oxytocin treatment effects.

The neurohormone oxytocin (OXT) has been implicated in the regulation of social behavior and is intensively investigated as a potential therapeutic treatment in neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by social deficits. In the -knockout (KO) mouse, a model of Schaaf-Yang Syndrome, an early postnatal administration of OXT rescued autistic-like behavior and cognition at adulthood, making this model relevant for understanding the actions of OXT in (re)programming postnatal brain development. The oxytocin receptor (OXTR), the main brain target of OXT, was dysregulated in the hippocampus of -KO adult males, and normalized upon OXT treatment at birth.

[As early as birth, oxytocin plays a key role in both food and social behavior].

Oxytocin (OT) is a neurohormone that regulates the so-called "social brain" and is mainly studied in adulthood. During postnatal development, the mechanisms by which the OT system structures various behaviors are little studied. Here we present the dynamic process of postnatal development of the OT system as well as the OT functions in the perinatal period that are essential for shaping social behaviors.