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Science 15 December 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5806, p. 1653
DOI: 10.1126/science.314.5806.1653j
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This Week in Science

Birth entails a multitude of transitions. Studying rats, Tyzio et al. (p. 1788) have identified yet one more, a link between oxytocin exposure and the switch in how certain brain neurons fire. The neuro-transmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is usually excitatory in fetal brain neurons but inhibitory once they mature. Exposure to oxytocin during parturition causes a switch from excitation to inhibition in GABA signaling. This quieting of neuronal activity may serve to protect the brain against transient hypoxia during birth.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)