PLOS ONE · 9 authors, 5 centres
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This preclinical study developed a Cre-free viral method to monitor oxytocin neuron activity in lactating wild-type mice. It found that milk ejection pulsatile activity requires physical mother-pup contact and its frequency is dynamically modulated by reunions and weaning stages.
This study developed a Cre-free adeno-associated virus method to chronically image pulsatile oxytocin neuron activity in lactating wild-type mice. The central result is that physical mother-pup contact is required for pulsatile activity during the milk ejection reflex. Using this tool, the authors observed that the frequency of pulsatile activity is dynamically modulated: it increases after mother-pup reunions following isolation and shows more clustered patterns during the dark phase in late lactation. The activity decreases gradually during peri-weaning stages, with dark phase preceding light phase. The study also provides a validated tool for monitoring oxytocin neurons across various mouse strains without genetic crossing. Limitations include that video analysis only served as a surrogate measure for mother-pup interaction time, not precise suckling duration.
