GELIFES Seminars - Alexa Veenema

Link to seminar

Alexa Veenema (Michigan State University)

To play or not to play

How oxytocin and vasopressin regulate social play through reward-related neural circuitries

Playing with peers in children and young animals is essential for the development of lifelong social skills. Autistic children are less engaged in social play and find these interactions less rewarding. This may impair social skill development in autistic individuals, which, in turn, may contribute to their lifelong social dysfunction. Autism is more prevalent in males than in females, suggesting sex differences in its etiology. Developing effective means to restore social play in autistic children is expected to improve their lifelong social functioning, but this requires understanding of the neural basis of social play and potential sex differences herein. In this talk I will discuss the neurobiological mechanisms driving social play behavior in male and female juvenile rats with emphasis on the roles of the evolutionarily conserved neuropeptides vasopressin and oxytocin. I will show how vasopressin and oxytocin regulate social play through distinct reward-related neural circuitries and in unique sex-specific ways. These findings may have implications for the sex-specific use of therapeutic drugs targeting the vasopressin and/or oxytocin systems and aimed at improving social play engagement in autistic children.

Biosketch:
Our lab explores the neural basis of social behavior. We focus on understanding the roles of the neuropeptides vasopressin and oxytocin in regulating social behavior (such as social play, social novelty-seeking, social recognition, social investigation, and sociosexual motivation) and how this is modulated by sex, age, and early life stress. We use rats and mice as model organisms and employ a combination of behavioral, molecular, biochemical, genetic, chemogenetic, and pharmacological techniques to address our research questions. Current funded research investigates how vasopressin and oxytocin act in the brain reward system to regulate social play behavior in male and female rats. It is expected that our research will gain insights into the neural networks underlying typical as well as atypical forms of social behavior. Findings of our research will be essential first steps in the evaluation of vasopressin and oxytocin as potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of social dysfunction in humans. Ultimately, our research should help lead to more effective treatment of the symptoms and/or causes of social behavior deficits.