Definition
Oxytocin (OT) is a nine amino-acid neuropeptide that is synthesized in magnocellular neurons in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus and stored in the posterior pituitary, from where it is released into the peripheral blood stream. In addition to being released from axonal terminals, there is also dendritic release into the extracellular space, resulting both in local action and its diffusion through the brain to reach distant targets, including the amygdala, hippocampus, striatum, suprachiasmatic nucleus, bed nucleus of stria terminalis, and brainstem (Meyer-Lindenberg et al. 2011). In addition to its hormonal actions in the uterus’ contraction during birth and the let-down reflex during breast-feeding, investigations across species have shown that OT plays a key role in encoding information relevant to social interactions and is critically involved in the regulation of complex social cognition and behavior, including attachment, social...
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References
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Heinrichs, M., Domes, G. (2017). Oxytocin. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_452-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_452-1
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