Astrocytes mediate a positive feedback loop for oxytocin

bioRxiv · 11 Nov 2026 · Preprint · Open access

Selles, Cooper + 5 more

The abstract is read at the publisher; the summary is JClub's.

Chronic social isolation in male mice reduces oxytocin peptide production and delays huddling onset after resocialization, but exogenous oxytocin prevents both behavioral and molecular effects.

Why it matters: Social deprivation can blunt oxytocin-related pro-social regulation, yet the cellular pathway linking social experience to oxytocin peptide levels and subsequent behavior is unclear.
What they did: The study used chronic social isolation and resocialization assays in male mice, then applied exogenous oxytocin and conditional knockouts to test whether astrocytes mediate oxytocin-induced oxytocin expression.
The result: Local hypothalamic astrocytes mediated oxytocin-driven oxytocin expression via astrocytic oxytocin signaling that upregulated Aldh1a1 and increased retinoic acid, which in turn elevated oxytocin expression.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.

Open access
1 cites

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Astrocytes mediate a positive feedback loop for oxytocin

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