Oxytocin and variability in social strategies: Parenting, early adversity and mood disorders Oxytocin (OXT) is a nonapeptide synthetized in the paraven- tricular nucleus of the hypothalamus that participates in several physiological and neural functions. Variability in the function of the OXT system has been associated with behavioral differences among species but also with individual variability in behavior and affective states. In the present talk I will show evidence that, first, supports the idea that the distribution of OXT receptors (OXTR) in the brain (e.g. nucleus accumbens and lateral septum) predis- poses species to certain reproductive and social strategies; second, supports the idea that intraspecific variability in OXTR distribution in the brain can teach us about individual variability in behavior and the potential effects of experience or the early environment on adult life; third, shows how OXT and OXTR gene-early environment interactions can also result in differences in behavior or predispo- sition to mood disorders in humans. We believe that comparative studies that search for finding common mechanisms used by nature for behavioral adaptation can reveal many aspects of healthy or pathologic human behavior.
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