Abstract
Aberrant regulation of oxytocin signaling is associated with the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. Synaptic dysfunctions in neurodevelopmental disorders are becoming increasingly known, and their pathogenic mechanisms could be a target of potential therapeutic intervention. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the role of oxytocin and its receptor in synapse structure, function, and neuron connectivity. An early alteration in oxytocin signaling may disturb neuronal maturation and may have short-term and long-term pathological consequences. At the molecular level, neurodevelopmental disorders include alterations in cytoskeletal rearrangement and neuritogenesis resulting in a diversity of synaptopathies. The presence of oxytocin receptors in the presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes and the direct effects of oxytocin on neuronal excitability by regulating the activity of ion channels in the cell membrane implicate that alterations in oxytocin signaling could be involved in synaptopathies. The ability of oxytocin to modulate neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and certain parameters of cytoskeletal arrangement is discussed in the present review.
Highlights
It has been known for a long time that oxytocin exerts modulatory effects on synaptic activity, recent studies have produced many important findings related to the neuron and glial cell structure, development, and functionality
Functional oxytocin receptors have been recently discovered at neural progenitor cells which implies that they could be associated with cell fate selection [3]
A recent study has demonstrated that the oxytocin receptor mRNA could be detected during mouse embryonal development in both sexes, females appear to have more of the oxytocin receptor mRNA than males [21]
Summary
It has been known for a long time that oxytocin exerts modulatory effects on synaptic activity, recent studies have produced many important findings related to the neuron and glial cell structure, development, and functionality. Oxytocin-producing cells appear during the early phase of the brain development [5], and their maturation, their ability to produce oxytocin, may influence the formation of neural circuits [6]. With regard to the defects in oxytocin signaling, there is a whole spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders frequently associated with them, which include autism; it is increasingly important to pay attention to the role of oxytocin and its receptor in synapse structure, function, and neuron connectivity. The ability of oxytocin to modulate neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and certain parameters of cytoskeletal arrangement is discussed in the following review
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