Social contact reduces stress responses in social animals. Mice have been shown to show allogrooming behaviour toward distressed conspecifics. However, the precise neuronal mechanisms underlying allogrooming behaviour remain unclear. In the present study, we examined whether mice show allogrooming behaviour towards distressed conspecifics in a social defeat model and we also determined whether oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons were activated during allogrooming by examining the expression of c-Fos protein, a marker of neurone activation. Mice showed allogrooming behaviour toward socially defeated conspecifics. After allogrooming behaviour, the percentages of oxytocin receptor-expressing neurones expressing c-Fos protein were significantly increased in the anterior olfactory nucleus, cingulate cortex, insular cortex, lateral septum and medial amygdala of female mice, suggesting that oxytocin receptor-expressing neurones in these areas were activated during allogrooming behaviour toward distressed conspecifics. The duration of allogrooming was correlated with the percentages of oxytocin receptor-expressing neurones expressing c-Fos protein in the anterior olfactory nucleus, insular cortex, lateral septum and medial amygdala. In oxytocin receptor-deficient mice, allogrooming behaviour toward socially defeated cage mates was markedly reduced in female mice but not in male mice, indicating the importance of the oxytocin receptor for allogrooming behaviour in female mice toward distressed conspecifics. The results suggest that the oxytocin receptor, possibly in the anterior olfactory nucleus, insular cortex, lateral septum and/or medial amygdala, facilitates allogrooming behaviour toward socially distressed familiar conspecifics in female mice.

中文翻译：

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催产素受体在雌性小鼠中对社交痛苦的笼子伴侣进行异种修饰的不可或缺的作用

社会接触减少了社会动物的压力反应。小鼠已被证明对痛苦的同种动物表现出同种异体的行为。然而，同种异体行为背后的精确神经元机制仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们检查了小鼠是否在社交失败模型中对痛苦的同种表现出同种异体修饰行为，我们还通过检查 c-Fos 蛋白（神经元激活的标志物）的表达来确定在同种异体修饰过程中是否激活了表达催产素受体的神经元。小鼠对社会上失败的同种表现出同种异体行为。在异种行为后，前嗅核、扣带回皮层、岛叶皮层中表达 c-Fos 蛋白的催产素受体表达神经元的百分比显着增加 雌性小鼠的外侧中隔和内侧杏仁核，表明这些区域中表达催产素受体的神经元在对痛苦的同种动物的同种异体行为期间被激活。同种异体修饰的持续时间与前嗅核、岛叶皮层、外侧中隔和内侧杏仁核中表达 c-Fos 蛋白的催产素受体表达神经元的百分比相关。在催产素受体缺陷的小鼠中，雌性小鼠对社交失败的笼子伴侣的同种异体行为显着减少，而雄性小鼠则没有，这表明催产素受体对雌性小鼠同种异体行为的重要性。结果表明，催产素受体可能位于前嗅核、岛叶皮层、外侧中隔和/或内侧杏仁核中，