# Oxytocin modulation of female aggression

> **NIH NIH U19** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $460,099

## Abstract

Project Summary (Project 4, Co-PIs: Lin, Froemke, Buzsaki, Tsien)
Social bonding refers to an intimate relationship formed among members of the same species. Across species,
social bonding is often accompanied by increased aggressiveness towards perceived threats against the object
of attachment. The neural process underlying the social bonding induced increase in aggression remains
unclear. Oxytocin plays pivotal roles in the formation of social bonds. Coincidently, the ventrolateral part of the
ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl), a hypothalamic region indispensable for both male and female aggression
expresses high level of oxytocin receptor and a dense cluster of oxytocin neurons are found right next to the
VMHvl. Thus, we hypothesize that oxytocin may play an important role in altering the VMHvl cell responses to
potential threat to increase female aggression after mother-infant bonding. Here we will test this hypothesis
through three aims. In Aim 1, we will test the functional role of local and distal oxytocin inputs to the VMHvl in
increasing female aggression during lactation. In Aim 2, we will perform in vivo cell-type specific recording to
address how VMHvl cells and their neighboring oxytocin neurons respond during natural female aggression.
Additionally, we will employ a novel genetically encoded oxytocin sensor to address how oxytocin influences the
activity of VMHvl cells in naïve and lactating females. In Aim 3, we will employ RNAseq and in vitro slice recording
to investigate how the VMHvl cells change the molecular and electrophysiological properties during lactation. In
summary, this project will combine the various tools developed in Projects 1-3 to provide new insight into the
neuromodulatory mechanisms in hypothalamus that alter aggressive behavior during social bonding.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10220159
- **Project number:** 5U19NS107616-04
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Dayu Lin
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $460,099
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10220159

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10220159, Oxytocin modulation of female aggression (5U19NS107616-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10220159. Licensed CC0.

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