health

A new study led by Morgane Vandendoren, Nicole Bedford, and others from Adam Nelson’s lab at the University of Wyoming has uncovered a new role for oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone.” Published in eLife, the research shows that oxytocin neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamus act as a kind of biological switch, helping mammals transition from cooler, resting states to warmer, active ones. Using mice, the team combined calcium imaging, optogenetics, and behavioural observation to show that bursts of oxytocin neuron activity reliably occur just before an animal warms up and becomes active, even in the absence of social cues. These neurons appear to coordinate both thermogenic (heat-producing) and behavioral arousal, revealing a new layer of oxytocin’s influence that bridges physiology and behaviour.

This collaboration, with contributions from several Wyoming students and collaborators, demonstrates how oxytocin not only shapes social and maternal behaviours but also tunes the body’s thermal and arousal cycles. My lab’s involvement was a bit on the periphery, but focused on the thermal imaging and coding pipelines that helped visualize these rapid transitions in body temperature and activity. Together, the findings expand our understanding of oxytocin beyond its traditional social context, showing that it also plays a key role in the daily rhythm of energy balance and physiological readiness.

The University of Wyoming have a more detailed press release for the study here:

https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2025/10/uw-researchers-discover-love-hormone-has-role-in-regulating-daily-thermoregulatory-patterns-of-rest-and-arousal.html

This paper was published in eLife, following an open peer review approach that I am still trying to wrap my head around. The citation is below, and so formally the study is published in preprint format, with us having still to upload a revised manuscript which will address some of the points raised by the reviewers.

Citation

Vandendoren, M, Rogers, JF, Landen, JG, Killmer, S, Alimiri, B, Pohlman, C, Tattersall, GJ, Bedford, NL, Nelson, AC. 2025. Oxytocin neurons signal state-dependent transitions to thermogenesis and behavioral arousal in social and non-social settings. eLife, 14: RP108212. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.108212.1

Bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) have become one of the most popular pet reptiles and in many cases are contributing to research as well. But as their popularity has soared, so too has the need to better understand what these lizards actually need to live well in captivity. Our latest study, recently published in PLOS ONE, examines whether giving bearded dragons more “naturalistic” resources within their enclosures actually improves their well-being. These enclosures included features like climbing structures, loose substrate, and multiple hiding spots, compared to standard setups with only basic furnishings. We expected these more complex spaces to help the lizards behave more naturally and experience less stress. While the naturalistic enclosures did offer better thermal variety (important for ectothermic animals like reptiles), we were surprised to find that they did not have a clear effect on how active the lizards were, how they used their space, or how often they showed signs of stress or relaxation.

Interestingly, only female lizards housed long-term in naturalistic enclosures showed lower levels of physiological stress (measured through ratios of white blood cells), suggesting that any benefits might be subtle or sex-specific.

Overall, our findings show that simply adding complexity to an enclosure isn’t enough to guarantee better welfare. It may be that lizards don’t perceive naturalistic and standard enclosures as very different, or that enclosure size matters more than what’s in it. For reptile owners and researchers alike, the take-home message is this: meaningful welfare improvements require us to think beyond aesthetics or what human caretakers assume is “good” or “natural”—we need to constantly evaluate our efforts and ask the animals themselves what they think.

The study is open access and available at the following link: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0322682

Citation

Denommé, M and Tattersall, GJ. 2025. Influence of enclosure design on the behaviour and welfare of Pogona vitticeps. PLoS One 20(6): e0322682 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0322682

Tattersall Lab (TEMP)

Thermoregulatory, Evolutionary, Metabolic Physiology

Oxytocin Neurons and the Rhythm of Warmth and Wakefulness

Relationship between “naturalistic enclosures” and lizard welfare not so simple