An intrinsic vasopressin system in the olfactory bulb is involved in social recognition

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 464; no. 7287; pp. 413 - 417
• Main Authors: Ludwig, Mike, Langnaese, Kristina, Tobin, Vicky A, Wacker, Douglas W, Meddle, Simone L, Takayanagi, Yuki, Onaka, Tatsushi, Leng, Gareth, Landgraf, Rainer, Caquineau, Celine, Engelmann, Mario, Hashimoto, Hirofumi, Noack, Julia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 18.03.2010; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378/2624; 631/80/86/2363; 692/699/476/377; 706/689/477; Animals; Antidiuretic Hormone Receptor Antagonists; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic aspects; Health aspects; Hormones; Humanities and Social Sciences; Interneurons - drug effects; Interneurons - metabolism; letter; multidisciplinary; Olfactory bulb; Olfactory Bulb - cytology; Olfactory Bulb - metabolism; Olfactory system and olfaction. Gustatory system and gustation; Peptides; Physiological aspects; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, Vasopressin - metabolism; Recognition (Psychology) - drug effects; Recognition (Psychology) - physiology; Regulatory approval; Rhinencephalon; Rodents; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Social Behavior; Studies; Vasopressin; Vasopressins - antagonists & inhibitors; Vasopressins - metabolism; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; United Kingdom; Human; Agonist; Oxytocin; Rat; Rodentia; Central nervous system; Neuropeptide; Vasopressin; Encephalon; Interneuron; Affective disorder; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Olfactory pathway; Animal; Information processing; Olfactory bulb; Antagonist; Behavior; Polymorphism; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/nature08826

Many peptides, when released as chemical messengers within the brain, have powerful influences on complex behaviours. Most strikingly, vasopressin and oxytocin, once thought of as circulating hormones whose actions were confined to peripheral organs, are now known to be released in the brain, where they have fundamentally important roles in social behaviours. In humans, disruptions of these peptide systems have been linked to several neurobehavioural disorders, including Prader-Willi syndrome, affective disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and polymorphisms of V1a vasopressin receptor have been linked to autism. Here we report that the rat olfactory bulb contains a large population of interneurons which express vasopressin, that blocking the actions of vasopressin in the olfactory bulb impairs the social recognition abilities of rats and that vasopressin agonists and antagonists can modulate the processing of information by olfactory bulb neurons. The findings indicate that social information is processed in part by a vasopressin system intrinsic to the olfactory system.