Oxytocin-dependent reopening of a social reward learning critical period with MDMA
Nature April 3, 2019 Romain Nardou, Eastman M. Lewis, Rebecca Rothhaas et al. 343 citations
A critical period is a developmental window when the nervous system is especially sensitive to environmental stimuli needed for proper circuit organization and learning. In disease, closure of these periods limits the brain's ability to adapt. This work provides evidence that developmental regulation of oxytocin-mediated synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens establishes a critical period for social reward learning. A single dose of MDMA reopens this critical period and upregulates oxytocin-dependent long-term depression. Reopening requires activation of oxytocin receptors in the nucleus accumbens and is recapitulated by stimulating oxytocin terminals there. These findings have implications for neurodevelopmental diseases with social impairments and disorders influenced by social factors.