A number of rat lines also exhibit a selleck chemicals correlation between OT and AVP receptor expression levels and specific types of behavior. Notorious examples are the differences identified by Champagne and Meaney (2001) between high- and low-licking and grooming mother rats characterized by more maternal care and lower anxiety and fear levels. These can be associated with higher levels of OT in the medial preoptic area, paraventricular nucleus, lateral septum, amygdala, and BST, the latter two regions well known for their role in anxiety and fear behavior. A similar association was noticed in mice, bred for different levels of nursing

and licking/grooming, between levels of OT and V1a receptors in the lateral septum and frequencies in, respectively, nursing and licking/grooming (Curley et al., 2012). Similarly, LAB/HAB mice and rats show interesting distinctions in AVP and OT signaling that can be related with a large spectrum of different behaviors (Veenema and Neumann, 2007). Such animal models may serve important roles to study similar variations within the human population. The distinct and potentially opposite roles of OT and AVP in the periphery suggest a certain complementary development in the evolution of their functions. In the brain, Forskolin manufacturer expression of OT and AVP takes place in nonoverlapping areas, and though at times juxtaposed, remains distinctly separated

in different sets of neurons. Similarly their receptors are typically expressed in different regions of the brain, and, where these regions are close neighbors, the expression of their receptors occurs in strictly separate sets of neurons. The question therefore arises of whether it is possible to distinguish across these different brain regions

contrasting and Linifanib (ABT-869) complementary roles of the signaling by these neuropeptide receptors. In this section, I will go through the different parts of the brain in which the expression and activation of their receptors have been found and evaluate their functions in light of potential complementary roles. A large number of electrophysiological studies have already been performed on acute neuromodulatory effects of both peptides in various brain areas. At first glance the effects seem diverse and dispersed in many regions, without a clear organizational pattern. Nevertheless, it may be possible to group some of these regions by considering them as part of neuronal circuits that underlie similar functions. For example, subsets of circuits comprise core networks that integrate the behavioral, physiological, and motivational processes related to specific neural “tasks.” Thus, we can identify a core network for social behavior within the limbic system, another network for stress and anxiety, for learning and memory, or more simply sensory and motor tasks (see also Goodson and Kabelik, 2009).