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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Ethol.
Sec. Social Behavior and Communication
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fetho.2024.1475119

PATERNAL BEHAVIOUR IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH LEVELS OF OT IN PLASMA AND THE PRESENCE OTR IN THE mPOA/BNST IN THE MONGOLIAN GERBIL (Meriones unguiculatus)

Provisionally accepted
Luis Romero-Morales Luis Romero-Morales Brenda García-Saucedo Brenda García-Saucedo Carmona Agustín Carmona Agustín Fernando A. Cervantes Fernando A. Cervantes Juana Luis Juana Luis *
  • National Autonomous University of Mexico, México City, Mexico

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The exhibition of paternal behaviour has been associated with high peripheral concentrations of oxytocin (OT) and levels of oxytocin receptors (OTRs) in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus. The presence of OTRs in the medial preoptic area (mPOA), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), medial amygdala (MeA), and olfactory bulb (OB) has not been studied extensively in the paternal context, although these nuclei are essential in the regulation of paternal behaviour. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between paternal response of sexually inexperienced males of the Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) and OT concentrations in plasma, as well as the presence of OTRs in the mPOA, BNST, MeA, and OB. We used sexually inexperienced gerbils: ten paternal (PAT) males and 10 males aggressive with pups (AGG). PAT males and AGG males were subjected to paternal behaviour tests. Then, blood samples were taken to quantify OT concentrations. The brains were dissected for OTR immunohistochemistry analyses. PAT males had significantly higher plasma levels of OT and numbers of cells with OTR immunoreactivity (ir) in the mPOA/BNST. These results indicated an association between paternal behaviour and peripheral concentrations of OT, as well as the presence of OTRs in the mPOA and BNST.

    Keywords: Oxytocin, OTR, Paternal Behavior, MPOA, BNST, MEA, Ob

    Received: 02 Aug 2024; Accepted: 11 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Romero-Morales, García-Saucedo, Agustín, Cervantes and Luis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Juana Luis, National Autonomous University of Mexico, México City, Mexico

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