The Effect of Nasal Oxytocin on Dopamine Release (2016)

Undergraduate: Kyla Mace

Faculty Advisor: Donita Robinson
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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The oxytocin (OT) and dopamine (DA) systems are highly intertwined and have been implicated in a number of similar behaviors, particularly social, sexual, and maternal behaviors. However, the basic pharmacological effect of OT administration on the DA system is yet to be determined. Additionally, although nasal OT is the primary route of administration in human research, it is rarely used in animal studies, with researchers often relying on other routes for systemic OT administration (e.g., intraperitoneal injection). The present study aims to fill this gap in the literature by examining the pharmacological effect of nasal OT on the DA system using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Specifically, stimulated DA release in the nucleus accumbens was measured before and after nasal OT administration in female rats. Because the peripartum period is rife with neuroendocrine changes, both virgin and postpartum animals were used to examine how pregnancy affects OT-DA interactions. Postpartum rats exposed to cocaine during pregnancy were also used, due to gestational cocaine's deleterious effects on both the OT and DA systems. Although data collection is still underway, there does not appear to be a clear effect of OT on DA release, which is inconsistent with past studies in the field. This may be due to any of the critical characteristics of this project - anesthetized animals, stimulated release, and phasic DA - which differ from the studies used to inform the project's design.