Table 2.

Summary of the behavioral effects of Avp

Behavioral Classes	Behaviors	Effects of Avp in rodents	Effects of Avp in humans
Social Behaviors
Aggression	Female aggression	Maternal aggression impaired in Avpr1b knockout mice	no known effect
	Male aggression	--⇑ when injected into the AH and LS --impaired in Avpr1b KO mice	--⇑ Avp in CSF correlated with more aggressive personality
	Scent marking and grooming	⇑ when injected into the MPOA-AH of hamsters	N/A
Affiliation	Partner preference	⇑ with i.c.v. injection in male prairie voles; dependent on Avpr1a distribution	N/A
	Paternal behavior	⇑ with intraseptal or hypothalamic rise in Avp	no known effect
	Maternal behavior	⇑ hypothalamic Avp release during lactation to aid in osmotic balance	no known effect
Learning and Memory
Social memory	Social recognition (males)	--⇑ when injected into LS --impaired in Avpr1b KO mice --impaired in Avpr1a KO mice; may be due to olfactory deficit	N/A
Non-social memory	Non-spatial memory	facilitated with Avp in dorsal or ventral hippocampus, depending on task	intranasal Avp enhances verbal memory in males, possibly by ⇑ arousal
	Spatial memory	--Avp enhances reference and working memory --impaired in Avpr1a KO mice	no known effect
Stress, Anxiety and Depression
	Anxiety	--Avp both anxiolytic and anxiogenic, depending on antagonist differences --decreased anxiety in Avpr1a mice in some studies; sexually dimorphic --correlation in AVP release from PVN and ⇑ anxiety in rats	high plasma Avp correlated with high anxiety levels
	Depression	--correlation in AVP release from SON and PVN and ⇑ depressive-like behavior	high plasma and hypothalamic Avp associated with major depressive disorder