Oxytocin: An Important Aspect for Designing Neuropsychiatric Drugs

Authors: Thakur P*, Shrivastava R and Shrivastava VK

Volume 4, Issue 3

Abstract

The hormone oxytocin (OT) has a central action where it acts as a neuromodulatory peptide and exerts its action depending upon the distribution of OT receptors (OTR) in the target site. OTRs are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprising different subunits (Gq, Gi, and Gs) and have the ability to activate different pathways, but specific agonists and antagonists may show different affinities to OTRs, depending on the specific G-protein isoform to which they are coupled. In recent study it has been found that OTR distribution varies with age and species and in regions of the brain, region-specific expression of different receptors could be important in the development of new drugs targeting specific neuropsychiatric disorders.

Keywords: Neuropeptide; Neurotransmitter; Receptor; Neuromodulation

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