The multiple faces of the oxytocin and vasopressin systems in the brain

Classically, hypothalamic neuroendocrine cells that synthesise oxytocin and vasopressin were categorised in two major cell types: the magnocellular and parvocellular neurones. It was assumed that magnocellular neurones project exclusively to the pituitary gland where they release oxytocin and vasopressin into the systemic circulation. The parvocellular neurones, on the other hand, project within the brain to regulate discrete brain circuitries...