Oxytocin
Larry Young built bridges with his social neuroscience research
Known for his work bringing oxytocin studies to the mainstream, Young died unexpectedly last month.
![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LaryyYoung1200-horizontal-1024x692.webp)
Larry Young built bridges with his social neuroscience research
Newly found hypothalamus circuits shape bullying behaviors in mice
Activity in the tiny brain region helps submissive rodents learn to avoid aggressors, and aggressive mice to curb their attacks, according to two recent studies.
![Photograph of an intimidating lab mouse.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1200-transmitter-neuroscience-hypothalamus-circuits-bulyying-behaviors-1024x683.webp)
Newly found hypothalamus circuits shape bullying behaviors in mice
New test taps nose pokes as a proxy for social motivation in mice
Over one hour, a particularly motivated mouse poked its nose 350 times into a hole in the test chamber in the hopes of meeting a playmate.
![Position heatmaps of mice performing a behavioral assay.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/1200-social-motivation-assay-autism.png)
New test taps nose pokes as a proxy for social motivation in mice
Psychedelics give mice second chance to learn social rewards
The drugs may reopen a critical window during development in which the brain can more easily adjust its connections.
![A photograph of a mouse against a swirly, multi-colored backdrop](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/1200-psychedelics-social-reward-learning-autism.png)
Psychedelics give mice second chance to learn social rewards
CRISPR tool rids rodents of oxytocin receptors
The approach provides an “off-the-shelf” way for researchers to compare oxytocin function across species, the team says.
![Research image of rodent brain scans.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/1200-CRISPR-rodents-oxytocin-autism.png)
CRISPR tool rids rodents of oxytocin receptors
Swings and misses with Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele
A careful clinician who prizes evidence, Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele is happy to embrace trial failures, as long as he learns from them.
Null and Noteworthy: Arbaclofen results; another oxytocin edition
New data from clinical trials of arbaclofen and oxytocin underscore the murkiness of null results. Plus, researchers seek clarity on the neurodevelopmental effects of oxytocin during childbirth.
![Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/lights_03-scaled.jpg)
Null and Noteworthy: Arbaclofen results; another oxytocin edition
Serotonin initiates earliest social bonds
Mice and rats, for example, gravitate toward their mother’s bedding over bedding that is clean or smells of a different dam.
![Mother and child rhesus macaque monkeys.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/844-macaque.jpg)
Serotonin initiates earliest social bonds
‘Mind-blowing’ study upends conventional wisdom on oxytocin
CRISPR-edited prairie voles that lack receptors for the so-called “social hormone” still bond with their mate and pups, raising questions about the molecule’s role.
![Two adult prairie voles snuggle.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/844-oxytocin-receptor-autism.png)
‘Mind-blowing’ study upends conventional wisdom on oxytocin
Mouse models help sniff out olfactory differences in autism
A range of presentations at Neuroscience 2022 tie atypical social behavior to trouble discriminating between odors in the animals.
![A white mouse sits on a nest against a blue background.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/844-mouse-models-autism-olfactory-differences.jpg)
Mouse models help sniff out olfactory differences in autism
Explore more from The Transmitter
Some minimally verbal autistic people show signs of written-language familiarity, study suggests
But researchers not involved in the work worry the findings could be used to support discredited facilitated-communication techniques.
![Conceptual image of colorful falling letters, casting shadows on a white wall.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Non-speaking-autism-1200-1024x692.webp)
Some minimally verbal autistic people show signs of written-language familiarity, study suggests
But researchers not involved in the work worry the findings could be used to support discredited facilitated-communication techniques.
Cocaine, morphine commandeer neurons normally activated by food, water in mice
Confirming a long-held hypothesis, repeated exposure to the drugs alters neurons in the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s reward center, and curbs an animal’s urge for sustenance.
![A diagram of green neurnons](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Green-neuron-art-1200-1024x692.webp)
Cocaine, morphine commandeer neurons normally activated by food, water in mice
Confirming a long-held hypothesis, repeated exposure to the drugs alters neurons in the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s reward center, and curbs an animal’s urge for sustenance.
X chromosome inactivation; motor difficulties in 16p11.2 duplication and deletion; oligodendroglia
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 6 May.
![Research image of neuronal axons in mice.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Spotted-3A-1200-1024x692.webp)
X chromosome inactivation; motor difficulties in 16p11.2 duplication and deletion; oligodendroglia
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 6 May.