Topic: vasopressinergic system

Dysregulation in the vasopressinergic system has been linked to social behavior deficits and Autism in humans. We utilized Shank3B+/- mice, a murine ASD model, to examine social behavior abnormalities associated with the pathology. Our findings not only confirmed well-documented sociability deficit, but also revealed a reduction in social aggression. We hypothesized that a dysregulated vasopressinergic system might contribute to the observed impairments in social behavior. The lateral septum (LS), a brain region implicated in social behaviors and densely innervated with arginine vasopressin (A

Uncoupling proteins (UCP) act as transporters in the mitochondrial inner membrane, regulating the discharge of the proton gradient generated by the respiratory chain. Within this family, UCP2 emerges as a multifaceted player in the central nervous system, influencing processes like cellular stress, cell proliferation, and neuroprotection. As UCP2 is co-expressed with oxytocin and vasopressin, the well-known social hormones.Our aim was to explore the role of UCP2 in social behaviour comparing wild-type (WT) and UCP2 knockout (KO) rats using social discrimination test. As possible background mec