A fluorescent sensor for real-time measurement of extracellular oxytocin dynamics in the brain

Lighting up the happiness hormone

26 December 2022

Researchers can now monitor oxytocin levels in the brain in real time thanks to a sensitive fluorescent sensor.

Sometimes dubbed the happy hormone, oxytocin is produced in the brain and is associated with feelings of love and happiness. In addition to regulating emotions, it plays an important role in childbirth and appetite. Its disruption may be linked with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and schizophrenia.

Researchers want to monitor its levels in the brain in real time, but current techniques have slow responses.

Now, a team led by researchers from Kanazawa University in Japan has designed and demonstrated a green-fluorescence sensor that becomes brighter when oxytocin binds to it, allowing real-time monitoring of oxytocin levels.

Based on the oxytocin receptor from a small freshwater fish, the sensor will be a useful tool for probing how oxytocin affects various behaviours, the researchers say.

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References

1. Nature Methods 19, 1286–1294 (2022). doi: 10.1038/s41592-022-01597-x