Researchers at the Brain and Mind Centre (BMC) have released the first-of-its-kind data for a oxytocin based radiotracer that can be used in animals and humans, based on the Oxytocin ARC linkage radiotracer study
The study led by Professor Adam Guastella and the Child Neurodevelopment and Mental Health research team, could have big impacts for research into how oxytocin affects the brain.
Researchers were able to show, for the first time in living animals, that this tracer specifically seeks out tissues rich in oxytocin receptors in regions like mammary tissue. This research is the first of its kind to show that a new PET imaging tracer, designed to latch onto oxytocin receptors, can be successfully made with a radioactive tag and works well in early animal tests.
Progressing this work in human brains could better understand how the oxytocin system works in health and disease, and how different oxytocin-based treatments work. In the long run, this may support more personalised approaches to oxytocin-based therapies and help improve treatment effectiveness.
If we get to the human phase, we will be able to answer one of the most important neuroscience questions about the impact of oxytocin on the brain and body (how, what where), which the field has been asking for the last 30 years
Adam Guastella
Professor
Guastella is the director of the Child Neurodevelopment and Mental Health team at BMC, as well as the Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health. This study was a collaboration with ANSTO, UQ, Vienna, and Emory University, and supported by an industry partner Pastorus.
Professor Guastella has previously demonstrated the powerful effects of oxytocin on enhancing cognitive processing of social stimuli such as recognising emotional facial expressions. Since then, they have gone on to show that an oxytocin nasal spray may have benefit for social learning in young children with autism. This work was a precursor to developing knowledge to determine whether oxytocin could become a potential medicinal therapy in the future.
Thrilled to see the strong preclinical results from this groundbreaking project! Sydney Imaging is ready to support Adam and his team as they advance to human studies, providing world-class radiochemistry expertise and Total Body PET imaging.
Professor Fernando Calamante
Director, Sydney Imaging Core Research Facility School of Biomedical Engineering
Australian National Total Body PET Facility
The human trial will be completed with the Australian National Total Body PET Facility, Australia’s first open-access facility with dedicated research capacity. The Facility is the result of a partnership between the University of Sydney, the National Imaging Facility (NIF) and the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD).
Author disclaimers:
This project received funding from ARC and Pastorus.
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