Sexually dimorphic oxytocin circuits drive intragroup social conflict and aggression in wild house mice

IF 21.2 1区 医学 Q1 NEUROSCIENCES
Yizhak Sofer, Noga Zilkha, Elena Gimpel, Shlomo Wagner, Silvia Gabriela Chuartzman, Tali Kimchi
{"title":"Sexually dimorphic oxytocin circuits drive intragroup social conflict and aggression in wild house mice","authors":"Yizhak Sofer, Noga Zilkha, Elena Gimpel, Shlomo Wagner, Silvia Gabriela Chuartzman, Tali Kimchi","doi":"10.1038/s41593-024-01685-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"In nature, both males and females engage in competitive aggressive interactions to resolve social conflicts, yet the behavioral principles guiding such interactions and their underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. Through circuit manipulations in wild mice, we unveil oxytocin-expressing (OT+) neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) as a neural hub governing behavior in dyadic and intragroup social conflicts, influencing the degree of behavioral sexual dimorphism. We demonstrate that OT+ PVN neurons are essential and sufficient in promoting aggression and dominance hierarchies, predominantly in females. Furthermore, pharmacogenetic activation of these neurons induces a change in the ‘personality’ traits of the mice within groups, in a sex-dependent manner. Finally, we identify an innervation from these OT neurons to the ventral tegmental area that drives dyadic aggression, in a sex-specific manner. Our data suggest that competitive aggression in naturalistic settings is mediated by a sexually dimorphic OT network connected with reward-related circuitry. In nature, female mice, like males, display aggression and dominant hierarchy. This study in wild mice identifies oxytocin-expressing neurons as a hub governing these behaviors, influencing the degree of sexual dimorphism in social conflicts.","PeriodicalId":19076,"journal":{"name":"Nature neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":21.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nature neuroscience","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01685-5","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

In nature, both males and females engage in competitive aggressive interactions to resolve social conflicts, yet the behavioral principles guiding such interactions and their underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. Through circuit manipulations in wild mice, we unveil oxytocin-expressing (OT+) neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) as a neural hub governing behavior in dyadic and intragroup social conflicts, influencing the degree of behavioral sexual dimorphism. We demonstrate that OT+ PVN neurons are essential and sufficient in promoting aggression and dominance hierarchies, predominantly in females. Furthermore, pharmacogenetic activation of these neurons induces a change in the ‘personality’ traits of the mice within groups, in a sex-dependent manner. Finally, we identify an innervation from these OT neurons to the ventral tegmental area that drives dyadic aggression, in a sex-specific manner. Our data suggest that competitive aggression in naturalistic settings is mediated by a sexually dimorphic OT network connected with reward-related circuitry. In nature, female mice, like males, display aggression and dominant hierarchy. This study in wild mice identifies oxytocin-expressing neurons as a hub governing these behaviors, influencing the degree of sexual dimorphism in social conflicts.

Abstract Image

Abstract Image

性双态催产素回路驱动野生家鼠的群内社会冲突和攻击行为
在自然界中,雄性和雌性都会通过竞争性的攻击性互动来解决社会冲突,但人们对指导这种互动的行为原理及其潜在的神经机制仍然知之甚少。通过对野生小鼠进行回路操作,我们揭示了下丘脑室旁核(PVN)中表达催产素(OT+)的神经元是支配二人和群体内社会冲突行为的神经枢纽,影响行为的性别二态性程度。我们证明,OT+ PVN 神经元在促进攻击性和支配等级方面是必不可少和足够的,主要是在雌性中。此外,这些神经元的药物基因激活会诱导小鼠在群体中的 "个性 "特征发生变化,这种变化与性别有关。最后,我们确定了这些OT神经元向腹侧被盖区的神经传导,这种传导以性别特异性的方式驱动着二人攻击行为。我们的数据表明,自然环境中的竞争性攻击行为是由与奖赏相关电路相连的性双态 OT 网络介导的。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Nature neuroscience
Nature neuroscience 医学-神经科学
CiteScore
38.60
自引率
1.20%
发文量
212
审稿时长
1 months
期刊介绍: Nature Neuroscience, a multidisciplinary journal, publishes papers of the utmost quality and significance across all realms of neuroscience. The editors welcome contributions spanning molecular, cellular, systems, and cognitive neuroscience, along with psychophysics, computational modeling, and nervous system disorders. While no area is off-limits, studies offering fundamental insights into nervous system function receive priority. The journal offers high visibility to both readers and authors, fostering interdisciplinary communication and accessibility to a broad audience. It maintains high standards of copy editing and production, rigorous peer review, rapid publication, and operates independently from academic societies and other vested interests. In addition to primary research, Nature Neuroscience features news and views, reviews, editorials, commentaries, perspectives, book reviews, and correspondence, aiming to serve as the voice of the global neuroscience community.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信