Brain oxytocin augments stress-induced long-lasting plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone elevation in rats

Abstract Single stress induces long-lasting changes in the hypothalamo-pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis of adult animals. Selective oxytocin (OXT) receptor antagonist was administrated into the cerebroventricle of male rats to test its influence on plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) responses induced by immobilization stress. The ACTH level is significantly higher than the control level ( P P =0.59), the antagonist significantly decreased the ACTH concentration at the end of repeated (3 days) stress and 2 days after single stress ( P