Monday, June 30, 2025 6/30/2025

Sex-dependent regulation of social reward by oxytocin in the mesolimbic reward circuitry

Award Number: R01MH122622
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/06/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2026

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Sex-dependent regulation of social reward by oxytocin in the mesolimbic reward circuitry - PROJECT SUMMARY The rewarding properties of social interactions are critical to the expression of adaptive social behavior and to the development and maintenance of social relationships. Little is known, however, about the factors that determine the reward value of social interactions or about the basic neural mechanisms that underlie social reward, particularly in females. We do know that the mesolimbic dopamine system (MDS) is central to the neural circuitry controlling the rewarding properties of many other stimuli such as drugs of abuse. A primary component of the MDS is dopamine (DA)-containing neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) that project to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) as well as to other sites such as the medial prefrontal cortex. Critical inputs to the MDS include oxytocin (OT)-containing projections from the hypothalamus. We and others have demonstrated that, in male rodents, activation of OT receptors in the caudal VTA and in the NAc is essential for the rewarding properties of social interaction. Remarkably, despite the considerable evidence for sex differences in OT regulation of social behaviors, the role of OT in regulating social reward in females has not been investigated. This project will provide substantial new information on the factors that determine the reward value of social interactions and on the neural mechanisms that mediate social reward by testing this series of integrated hypotheses in male and female Syrian hamsters. Based on published and preliminary data from our lab and others, we have hypothesized that: 1) there is an inverted U relationship between the “dose” of social interactions and social reward, 2) this dose-response relationship is initiated at lower doses in females than in males, and 3) this sex difference is mediated by differential OT-induced DA release in the MDS. This project has substantial potential for translation to clinically-related problems by providing: 1) new information on how social stimuli can transition from being rewarding to being less rewarding or even aversive, 2) potential mechanisms for understanding well-known sex differences in the incidence of neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders for which dysfunctional social relationships are an important symptom, and 3) the potential for development of gender- specific treatments for these disorders.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $492,586 )
2025	2025	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC	58 EDGEWOOD AVE NE	ATLANTA	GA	30303	FULTON	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	5	2/13/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$492,586
														Subtotal = $492,586

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $579,513 )
2024	2024	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC	58 EDGEWOOD AVE NE	ATLANTA	GA	30303	FULTON	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	2/15/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$521,562
2024	2024	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC	58 EDGEWOOD AVE NE	ATLANTA	GA	30303	FULTON	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	7/16/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$57,951
														Subtotal = $579,513

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $521,561 )
2023	2023	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	58 EDGEWOOD AVE NE 3RD FL	ATLANTA	GA	30303	FULTON	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	1/17/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$521,561
														Subtotal = $521,561

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $550,538 )
2022	2022	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	58 EDGEWOOD AVE NE 3RD FL	ATLANTA	GA	30303	FULTON	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	2/9/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$495,484
2022	2022	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	58 EDGEWOOD AVE NE 3RD FL	ATLANTA	GA	30303	FULTON	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	2	6/7/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$55,054
														Subtotal = $550,538

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $574,373 )
2021	2021	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	58 EDGEWOOD AVE NE 3RD FL	ATLANTA	GA	30303	FULTON	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	1	5/7/2021	NEW	$57,439
2021	2021	GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	58 EDGEWOOD AVE NE 3RD FL	ATLANTA	GA	30303	FULTON	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	3/31/2021	NEW	$516,934
														Subtotal = $574,373

Grand Total All Awards = $2,718,571

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Sex-dependent regulation of social reward by oxytocin in the mesolimbic reward circuitry

Award Number: R01MH122622

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/06/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2026

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer