Olfactory cues from an oxytocin-injected male rat can reduce energy loss in its cagemates.

Abstract

Rats can recognize the odor of a stressed conspecific and react with stress themselves. Stress mobilizes energy, causing increased core temperatures and energy loss by radiation from the naked tail. Oxytocin administered in high doses (1 mg/kg, s.c.) reduces a rat's tail skin temperature and thereby the radiated energy loss. While administration of this high dose of oxytocin induces sedation low doses induce anxiolysis. This study demonstrates that the cagemates of an oxytocin-treated (1 mg/kg s.c.) rat, which themselves have not received any oxytocin-treatment, show energy conservation, apparent as reduced tail skin temperature. This effect was blocked by olfactory impairment. The temperature reduction in the cagemates probably reflects an oxytocin-mediated olfactorily activated stress inhibitory mechanism.