Oxytocin regulates parturition, lactation, parental nurturing, and many other social behaviors in both sexes. The circuit mechanisms by which oxytocin modulates social behavior are receiving increasing attention. Here, we review recent studies on oxytocin modulation of neural circuit function and social behavior, largely enabled by new methods of monitoring and manipulating oxytocin or oxytocin receptor neurons in vivo. These studies indicate that oxytocin can enhance the salience of social stimuli and increase signal-to-noise ratios by modulating spiking and synaptic plasticity in the context of circuits and networks. We highlight oxytocin effects on social behavior in nontraditional organisms such as prairie voles and discuss opportunities to enhance the utility of these organisms for studying circuit-level modulation of social behaviors. We then discuss recent insights into oxytocin neuron activity during social interactions. We conclude by discussing some of the major questions and opportunities in the field ahead. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Neuroscience, Volume 44 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

中文翻译：

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催产素，神经可塑性和社会行为。

催产素调节男女的分娩，哺乳，父母的养育以及许多其他社会行为。催产素调节社会行为的电路机制受到越来越多的关注。在这里，我们回顾了催产素调节神经回路功能和社会行为的最新研究，很大程度上是通过监测和操纵体内催产素或催产素受体神经元的新方法实现的。这些研究表明，催产素可以通过在电路和网络环境中调节尖峰和突触可塑性来增强社交刺激的显着性并增加信噪比。我们重点介绍了催产素对诸如草原田鼠等非传统生物的社会行为的影响，并讨论了提高这些生物在研究社会行为的电路级调节中的效用的机会。然后，我们讨论在社交互动过程中催产素神经元活动的最新见解。最后，我们讨论了该领域中的一些主要问题和机遇。《神经科学年度评论》（第44卷）的最终最终在线发布日期为2021年7月。有关修订的估算，请参见http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates。