# Oxytocin modulation of a distributed neural circuit for maternal behavior

> **NIH NIH U19** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $456,531

## Abstract

Project Summary (Project 1, Co-PIs: Froemke, Lin, Buzsaki)
Oxytocin is a neuropeptide important for social behavior, such as maternal care and pair bonding. It is now
believed that direct axonal oxytocin release into various forebrain targets is critical for social behavior, but it
remains unclear where and when oxytocin modulation is required to enhance social information processing and
regulate maternal behavior. Oxytocin is essential for nursing, but it is unclear what other aspects of maternal
behavior by mothers or unrelated co-caring animals depend on the oxytocin system. Oxytocin administration
might also be clinically promising, improving outcomes in autism spectrum disorders, social anxiety, and post-
partum depression. However, it is imperative to understand the functional anatomy and whole-brain neural
circuitry by which oxytocin affects behavioral changes, including when oxytocin might be released, and whether
there are differences in oxytocin modulation that depend on gender or social context.
 Here we will address this critical knowledge gap. Recently, we generated the first specific antibodies to
the mouse oxytocin receptor, used these antibodies to determine where these receptors are localized, and
examined how oxytocin can enable pup retrieval behavior in maternal mice. Those previous studies provide a
robust foundation for the current Project, in which our team aims to understand which target neural circuits are
modulated by oxytocin, and if there are behavioral episodes that might be sensitive to oxytocin modulation during
brief periods of social interaction. The central hypothesis is that oxytocin is absolutely necessary to initiate
maternal behaviors in key areas including auditory cortex and hippocampus, but may be dispensable in
experienced mothers. We will perform behavioral, optogenetic, and circuit mapping studies in adult mice to
determine where and when oxytocin modulates neural circuits to enhance social information processing and
subsequently improve maternal behavior. In Aim 1 we will build a new behavioral recording system to
continuously monitor social interactions for days to weeks. In Aim 2, we profile oxytocin projections and oxytocin
receptor expression throughout the entire adult brain to find potential hotspots of modulation. Finally in Aims 3
and 4, we perform optogenetic loss-of-function and gain-of-function type experiments to determine where and
when oxytocin modulation is needed for maternal behavior or at what points might additional oxytocin release
accelerate maternal behavior onset or improve steady-state performance.
 In summary, here we will study the emergence of social interactions and maternal behaviors as they are
naturally expressed during multiple animal co-housing, using a new behavioral monitoring systems we will build.
We will then use this system to determine when and where oxytocin modulation is required and most effective
at promoting pro-social interactions and child care.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10220156
- **Project number:** 5U19NS107616-04
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert Crooks Froemke
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $456,531
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10220156

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10220156, Oxytocin modulation of a distributed neural circuit for maternal behavior (5U19NS107616-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10220156. Licensed CC0.

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