Comparison of the distribution of oxytocin and vasopressin 1a receptors in rodents reveals conserved and derived patterns of nonapeptide evolution.

Oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP) are known modulators of social behaviour across rodents. Research has revealed the location of action of these nonapeptides through localization of their associated receptors, which include the oxytocin receptor (OTR) and the vasopressin 1a receptor (V1aR). As research into these complex systems has progressed, studies investigating how these systems modulate behaviour have remained relatively narrow in scope (ie, focused on how a single brain region shapes behaviour in only a handful of species). However, the brain regions that regulate social behaviour are part of interconnected neural networks for which coordinated activity enables behavioural variation. Thus, to better understand how nonapeptide systems have evolved under different selective pressures among rodent species, we conducted a meta-analysis using a multivariate comparative method to examine the patterns of OTR and V1aR density expression in this taxon. Several brain regions were highly correlated based on their OTR and V1aR binding patterns across species, supporting the notion that the distribution of these receptors is highly conserved in rodents. However, our results also revealed that specific patterns of V1aR density differed from OTR density, and within-genus variance for V1aR was low compared to between-genus variance, suggesting that these systems have responded and evolved quite differently to selective pressures over evolutionary time. We propose that, in addition to examining single brain regions of interest, taking a broad comparative approach when studying the OT and VP systems is important for understanding how the systemic action of nonapeptides modulate social behaviour across species.