Access

Letter

Nature Genetics 25, 284–288 (1 July 2000) | doi:10.1038/77040

Social amnesia in mice lacking the oxytocin gene

Jennifer N. Ferguson , Larry J. Young , Elizabeth F. Hearn , Martin M. Matzuk , Thomas R. Insel & James T. Winslow

The development of social familiarity in rodents depends predominantly on olfactory cues and can critically influence reproductive success. Researchers have operationally defined this memory by a reliable decrease in olfactory investigation in repeated or prolonged encounters with a conspecific.