Podcasts
BrainPod is the podcast from the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, produced in association with Springer Nature. Listen in as we delve into the latest basic and clinical research that advance our understanding of the brain and behavior, featuring highlighted content from the journal. Tune in here: iTunes, Google Podcasts, Overcast, RSS Feed, SoundCloud. Spotify. YouTube.
For complete access to the original papers and reviews featured in this podcast, subscribe to Neuropsychopharmacology.
Latest Episode:
March 2026: Oxytocin neurons in the anterior and posterior paraventricular nucleus have distinct behavioral functions and electrophysiological profiles
Oxytocin has become known for having anti-anxiety and affiliative behavioral effects. That’s why clinicians and researchers are excited about using oxytocin as a potential therapeutic.
Brian Trainor is a professor at UC Davis, and his lab has been studying this complexity for the past decade. For an animal model, they work with a territorial, aggressive, monogamous rodent species called California mice. If the male is removed and the female is forced to defend their nest, she will experience what’s known as social defeat, and she will exhibit what’s called inhibited affiliative behavior, the type that can be affected by oxytocin — and this effect can be studied in a mouse’s brain.
Read the full study here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-026-02352-y
Listen here: iTunes, Google Podcasts, Overcast, RSS Feed, SoundCloud (Transcript). Spotify. YouTube.