In the socially monogamous prairie vole, we have observed that small changes in early handling, as well as early hormonal manipulations can have long-lasting and sexually dimorphic effects on behavior. These changes may be mediated in part by changes in parental interactions with their young, acting on systems that rely on oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP). Knowledge of both endogenous and exogenous influences on systems that rely on OT and AVP may be helpful in understanding sexually dimorphic developmental disorders, such as autism, that are characterized by increased anxiety and deficits in social behavior.
© 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel
- Sex differences
- Early experience
- Prairie voles
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Department of Psychiatry, Brain Body Center
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL 60612 (USA)
Tel. +1 312 355 1593, Fax +1 312 996 7658, E-Mail firstname.lastname@example.org
Received: December 16, 2008
Accepted: December 29, 2008
Published online: June 17, 2009
Number of Print Pages : 10
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 58
Vol. 31, No. 4, Year 2009 (Cover Date: June 2009)
Journal Editor: Levison S.W. (Newark, N.J.)
ISSN: 0378-5866 (Print), eISSN: 1421-9859 (Online)
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