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.
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.