Empathy toward the distress of others is thought to motivate helping behaviour, in the form of voluntary action to eliminate that distress. Neuropeptide oxytocin is associated with various social cognitive abilities, including empathy and prosocial behaviour. The anterior cingulate cortex is known to be one of the brain regions underlying empathy, and one in which oxytocin receptors are expressed. However, the relationship between helping behaviour and oxytocin in the anterior cingulate cortex is still unclear. The present study investigated whether oxytocin in the anterior cingulate cortex is involved in rats’ helping behaviour. In Experiment 1, we examined the influence of blockading the oxytocin receptors in the anterior cingulate cortex on helping behaviour. Impeding oxytocin in the anterior cingulate cortex delayed learning of the helping behaviour. In Experiment 2, we examined immunofluorescent colocalization of oxytocin receptors and c-fos proteins in the anterior cingulate cortex, the anterior insular cortex, and the amygdala in rats that acquired helping behaviour. We found increased c-fos expression in oxytocin receptor-containing neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala when the rats acquired helping behaviour. In addition, the change in neural activation was found in the late phase of the learning. These results suggest that the oxytocin in the cingulate-amygdala pathways may play an important role in helping behaviour.

对他人痛苦的同理心被认为会激发帮助行为，以自愿行动的形式消除这种痛苦。神经肽催产素与各种社会认知能力有关，包括同理心和亲社会行为。众所周知，前扣带回皮层是产生共情的大脑区域之一，也是表达催产素受体的区域之一。然而，帮助行为与前扣带回皮层中催产素之间的关系仍不清楚。本研究调查了前扣带皮层中的催产素是否与大鼠的帮助行为有关。在实验 1 中，我们检查了阻断前扣带回皮层中的催产素受体对帮助行为的影响。阻止前扣带皮层中的催产素延迟了对帮助行为的学习。在实验 2 中，我们检查了获得帮助行为的大鼠的前扣带回皮层、前岛叶皮层和杏仁核中催产素受体和 c-fos 蛋白的免疫荧光共定位。我们发现当大鼠获得帮助行为时，前扣带回皮层和杏仁核中含有催产素受体的神经元中 c-fos 表达增加。此外，在学习后期发现了神经激活的变化。这些结果表明扣带回-杏仁核通路中的催产素可能在帮助行为方面发挥重要作用。获得帮助行为的大鼠的前岛叶皮层和杏仁核。我们发现当大鼠获得帮助行为时，前扣带回皮层和杏仁核中含有催产素受体的神经元中 c-fos 表达增加。此外，在学习后期发现了神经激活的变化。这些结果表明扣带回-杏仁核通路中的催产素可能在帮助行为方面发挥重要作用。获得帮助行为的大鼠的前岛叶皮层和杏仁核。我们发现当大鼠获得帮助行为时，前扣带回皮层和杏仁核中含有催产素受体的神经元中 c-fos 表达增加。此外，在学习后期发现了神经激活的变化。这些结果表明扣带回-杏仁核通路中的催产素可能在帮助行为方面发挥重要作用。