Intranasal application of vasopressin fails to elicit changes in brain immediate early gene expression, neural activity and behavioral performance of rats

Mike Ludwig, Victoria Tobin, Michael F Callahan, Eirini Papadaki, Axel Becker, Mario Engelmann, Gareth Leng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Intranasal administration has been widely used to investigate effects of the neuropeptides vasopressin and oxytocin on human behaviors and neurological disorders, but exactly what happens when these neuropeptides are administered intranasally is far from clear. In particular, it is not clear whether a physiological significant amount of peptide enters the brain to account for the observed effects. Here, we investigated whether intranasal administration of vasopressin and oxytocin to rats induces expression of the immediate-early gene product Fos in brain areas that are sensitive to centrally administered peptide, whether it alters neuronal activity in the way that centrally administered peptide does, and whether it affects behavior in ways expected from studies of centrally administered peptide. We found that, whereas intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of very low doses of vasopressin or oxytocin increased Fos expression in several distinct brain regions, intranasal administration of large doses of the peptides had no significant effect. In contrast to the effects of vasopressin applied topically to the main olfactory bulb, we saw no changes in the electrical activity of olfactory bulb mitral cells after intranasal vasopressin administration. In addition, vasopressin given intranasally had no significant effects on social recognition or short-term recognition memory. Finally, intranasal infusions of vasopressin had no significant effects on the parameters monitored on the elevated plus maze, a rodent model of anxiety. Our data in rats suggest that, after intranasal administration, significant amounts of vasopressin and oxytocin do not reach areas in the brain at levels sufficient to change immediate early gene expression, neural activity or behavior in the ways described for central administration of the peptides. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)655-667
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Neuroendocrinology
Volume25
Issue number7
Early online date14 Jun 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2013

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