# Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition

> **NIH NIH P50** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $2,447,163

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The oxytocin (OT) system is perhaps the most viable neurobiological target for enhancing social cognition in
psychiatric disorders with compromised social function, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In animals,
OT enhances neural responsiveness to social cues, thereby facilitating social recognition, attachment and
reward. In humans with ASD, intranasal OT enhances brain reward system responses to social stimuli, increases
gaze to the eyes of others, and improves social reciprocity. The efficacy of intranasal OT as a therapy for social
disorders is limited by poor penetrance into the brain. In order to inform future translational applications, our goal
is to gain a better understanding of the precise mechanisms by which OT influence social information processing
in the context of intrinsic or extrinsic reward. Social learning involves social information processing in the context
of reward and is paramount to normative social skill development, and the role of OT in this process is a central
theme of the Center. We will sustain a highly coordinated, interdisciplinary research program involving an
outstanding team of investigators to test the hypothesis that OT facilitates social learning by enhancing the flow
of information across neural networks involved in salience and reward. Project scientists will use cutting-edge
techniques to manipulate OT signaling in specific circuits during social engagement to understand how OT
influences socially relevant neural communication. Project 1 will examine the effect of pharmacologically-evoked
endogenous OT release during a social encounter on a social salience brain network in monogamous prairie
voles that have high or low densities of OT receptors. Project 2 will perform simultaneous electrophysiological
recordings in three brain regions that process social information and reward during social bond formation in
prairie voles. Optogenetic manipulations of the circuit will be used to test causal relationships between OT-
dependent neural activity and social attachment. Project 3 will analyze the influence of optogenetic stimulation
of OT release and targeted genetic mutations on neural communication in rats in the context of a social learning
paradigm using extrinsic reinforcers. A potential interaction of OT and cholinergic systems will be examined.
Project 4 will record neural activity in these same brain regions following local OT infusion in rhesus macaques
while performing an extrinsic reward-based social discrimination visual task. A Bioanalytic Core will provide vital
histological, genotyping and neural molecular phenotyping services for the research Projects. An Administrative
Core will manage all Center related activities (seminar series, meetings, Pilot Project grants), provide statistical
consultation and coordinate outreach and training activities of Center personnel by strengthening existing
relationships and forging new ones with numerous organizations. As a result, the ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9851933
- **Project number:** 5P50MH100023-08
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Larry J Young
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $2,447,163
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-07-01 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9851933

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9851933, Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition (5P50MH100023-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9851933. Licensed CC0.

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