Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) is critical for lactation and maternal care, but OT and the related nonapeptide vasopressin are important for caregiving behaviors in fathers and alloparents as well. This experiment tested the effects of vasopressin and OT on food sharing in marmoset families. We treated caregivers (parents, siblings) with intranasal vasopressin, OT, or saline, and then paired them with the youngest marmoset in the family. Caregivers were given preferred food, and then observed for food sharing and aggressive behavior with young marmosets. OT reduced food sharing from male alloparents to youngest siblings, and fathers that received vasopressin refused to share food with their youngest offspring more often than when treated with OT. Vasopressin increased aggressive vocalizations directed toward potential food recipients in all classes of caregivers. These results indicate that vasopressin and OT do not always enhance prosocial behavior: modulation of food sharing depends on both sex and parental status.
Highlights
In mammals, mothers begin providing nutritional support immediately after the delivery of offspring, and this process is regulated by the nonapeptide hormone oxytocin (OT) and its cognate receptor [1]
Food sharing was associated with the parental status of the provisioner, and it was affected by the interaction between parental status and nonapeptide treatment
All family members perform post-weaning caregiving behavior in the form of food sharing, and we showed that nonapeptide treatment altered food sharing behavior in some, but not all, caregivers
Summary
Mothers begin providing nutritional support (i.e., lactation) immediately after the delivery of offspring, and this process is regulated by the nonapeptide hormone oxytocin (OT) and its cognate receptor [1]. OT is an important modulator of other maternal behaviors in addition to lactation, as demonstrated in multiple experimental approaches. AVP and OT are highly similar nonapeptides, differing at only two amino acid positions, and each can bind and activate the others’ receptors [reviewed in Ref. Data from correlational studies investigating OT or AVP support a role for both nonapeptides in the regulation of maternal care [9,10,11], though there is some concern over whether peripheral measures of nonapeptides accurately reflect levels
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