Stability and dynamics of forebrain V1aR and OTR during pregnancy in prairie voles

• Published in: Journal of neuroendocrinology Vol. 25; no. 8; pp. 719 - 728
• Main Authors: Ophir, Alexander G., Sorochman, Grace, Evans, Brittany L., Prounis, George S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.08.2013
• DOI: 10.1111/jne.12049
• ISSN: 0953-8194

During pregnancy, females undergo several physiologically driven changes that facilitate adaptive behaviours and prepare the mother to care for her developing offspring. The nonapeptide hormone oxytocin is best recognised for its involvement in mammalian pregnancy and has been tightly associated with maternal care, in addition to its roles in pregnancy, parturition, and lactation. A closely related nonapeptide hormone, arganine vasopressin, has received considerably less attention for its role in pregnancy but has recently been implicated in modulating maternal care and aggression. Here, we examine the expression patterns of receptors for oxytocin (OTR) and vasopressin (V1aR) over the course of pregnancy, ranging from non-mated virgin to immediately postpartum female prairie voles ( Microtus ochrogaster ). Surprisingly, we found that OTR was highly stable in all measured structures in the forebrain. V1aR was also stable throughout most of the brain. Two exceptions to this were found in the ventral pallidum (VPall) and the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN); both significantly correlated with the length of time females were pregnant. Changes in the PVN may reflect functional feedback in vasopressin release, or preparatory changes for ensuing maternal behaviour. The results also indicate an unappreciated role for VPall V1aR in pregnancy, which may relate to the function of the VPall in hedonic ‘liking’ and motivational ‘wanting.’ Taken together, our data indicate that with a few compelling exceptions, nonapeptide dynamics during prairie vole pregnancy are largely limited to changes in the synthesis and release of oxytocin and vasopressin, not the receptors to which they bind.