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<p>Oxytocin-mediated milk ejection (ME) is pivotal to effective breastfeeding and reproductive health, yet behaviorally decoding and revealing neural mechanisms of ME remains challenging. Here, we combined <i>in vivo</i> calcium imaging and intramammary pressure recording to uncover the temporal connections between episodic activity of oxytocin neurons and ME in conscious lactating rats. Leveraging the coordinated behavioral responses of dams and pups, we developed a supervised machine learning framework (ME Decoder) to enable automated analyses of ME. Inspired by its interpretable features, we defined the activity-coupled dam-pup interactions (ADPI), manifested by pronounced kyphosis in dams, followed by pup treading and stretching, as the behavioral signatures of ME. By ME Decoder and ADPI analyses, we detected reduced ME but unaffected activity of oxytocinergic neurons after systemic blockade of oxytocin receptors. Our study uncovers the oxytocinergic and behavioral signatures of ME and provides a generalizable approach for further investigation.</p>

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Decoding the Oxytocinergic and Behavioral Signatures of Milk Ejection

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月25日

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  • Wei Xiao,
  • Qian Zheng,
  • Yang Wang,
  • Ying Yuan,
  • Yuge Chen,
  • Tianxing Zheng,
  • Yuzhu Chen,
  • Yijia Gao,
  • Bingrui Song,
  • Bin Zhang,
  • Liyao Qiu,
  • Linghui Zeng,
  • Huan Ma,
  • Colin H. Brown,
  • Shumin Duan,
  • Gang Pan,
  • Zhihua Gao

摘要

Oxytocin-mediated milk ejection (ME) is pivotal to effective breastfeeding and reproductive health, yet behaviorally decoding and revealing neural mechanisms of ME remains challenging. Here, we combined in vivo calcium imaging and intramammary pressure recording to uncover the temporal connections between episodic activity of oxytocin neurons and ME in conscious lactating rats. Leveraging the coordinated behavioral responses of dams and pups, we developed a supervised machine learning framework (ME Decoder) to enable automated analyses of ME. Inspired by its interpretable features, we defined the activity-coupled dam-pup interactions (ADPI), manifested by pronounced kyphosis in dams, followed by pup treading and stretching, as the behavioral signatures of ME. By ME Decoder and ADPI analyses, we detected reduced ME but unaffected activity of oxytocinergic neurons after systemic blockade of oxytocin receptors. Our study uncovers the oxytocinergic and behavioral signatures of ME and provides a generalizable approach for further investigation.