Differential lateral septal vasopressin innervation in aggressive and nonaggressive male mice

Compaan, J.C.; Buijs, Ruud M.; Pool, C.W.; Ruiter, A.J.H. de; Koolhaas, J.M.

doi:10.1016/0361-9230(93)90032-7

Cited by 133 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Our data extend this observation to a second mouse background strain, C57BL/6J. Both of the behaviors that differ in XX and XY Ϫ females in the present study are influenced by vasopressin in rodents (Compaan et al, 1993;Wang et al, 1998;Bester-Meredith et al, 1999;Wersinger et al, 2002) and sex differences in AVP in males and females are correlated with these behavioral differences (Wang et al, 1998;Arnold et al, 2003). These observations make AVP a possible intermediate target because it is not expressed on a sex chromosome but may be influenced by sex chromosome genes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Sex Chromosome Complement and Gonadal Sex Influence Aggressive and Parental Behaviors in Mice

Gatewood¹,

Wills²,

Shetty³

et al. 2006

J. Neurosci.

223

227

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Across human cultures and mammalian species, sex differences can be found in the expression of aggression and parental nurturing behaviors: males are typically more aggressive and less parental than females. These sex differences are primarily attributed to steroid hormone differences during development and/or adulthood, especially the higher levels of androgens experienced by males, which are caused ultimately by the presence of the testis-determining gene Sry on the Y chromosome. The potential for sex differences arising from the different complements of sex-linked genes in male and female cells has received little research attention. To directly test the hypothesis that social behaviors are influenced by differences in sex chromosome complement other than Sry, we used a transgenic mouse model in which gonadal sex and sex chromosome complement are uncoupled. We find that latency to exhibit aggression and one form of parental behavior, pup retrieval, can be influenced by both gonadal sex and sex chromosome complement. For both behaviors, females but not males with XX sex chromosomes differ from XY. We also measured vasopressin immunoreactivity in the lateral septum, which was higher in gonadal males than females, but also differed according to sex chromosome complement. These results imply that a gene(s) on the sex chromosomes (other than Sry) affects sex differences in brain and behavior. Identifying the specific X and/or Y genes involved will increase our understanding of normal and abnormal aggression and parental behavior, including behavioral abnormalities associated with mental illness.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Sex Chromosome Complement and Gonadal Sex Influence Aggressive and Parental Behaviors in Mice

Gatewood¹,

Wills²,

Shetty³

et al. 2006

J. Neurosci.

223

227

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although the type II glucocorticoid receptor agonist dexamethasone has been shown to suppress AVP mRNA levels in AME, gonadal steroids seem to be more important in the regulation of AVP in this region, because the decrease is contingent on a concomitant suppression of testosterone levels (Urban et al, 1991). Testosterone has also be shown to play a key role in the regulation of extrahypothalamic AVP expression in other models, because castration leads to a decrease in AVP mRNA and immunoreactivity, an effect that can be reversed by testoster- Behaviors mediated by the vasopressinergic circuit arising from the AME include aggression (Koolhaas et al, 1990;Compaan et al, 1993), copulation (Smock et al, 1992), and social recognition (Lehman et al, 1980;Bolhuis et al, 1984;Bluthe et al, 1990). The decreased AVP expression in the AME may play a role in the reduction of aggressive and sexual behaviors in the subordinate animals after the stress-induced decline in testosterone secretion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these circuits, the neuropeptides may be involved in some of the behavioral changes observed in the VBS animals, because central CRF projections have been shown to mediate stress-related behaviors in rats (Makino et al, 1994), whereas central AVP projections are involved with aggressive (Koolhaas et al, 1990;Compaan et al, 1993) and sexual (Winslow et al, 1993;Minerbo et al, 1994) behaviors in rodents.…”

Section: Abstract: Stress; Corticosterone; Crf; Avp; In Situ Hybridimentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic Social Stress Alters Levels of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor and Arginine Vasopressin mRNA in Rat Brain

et al. 1997

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In the visible burrow system model of chronic social stress, male rats housed in mixed-sex groups quickly form a dominance hierarchy in which the subordinates appear to be severely stressed. A subgroup of subordinates have an impaired corticosterone response after presentation of a novel restraint stressor, leading to their designation as nonresponsive subordinates. To examine the mechanism underlying the blunted corticosterone response in these animals, in situ hybridization histochemistry was used to quantify corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) mRNA expression in the brain. In two separate visible burrow system experiments, the nonresponsive subordinates expressed a significantly lower average number of CRF mRNA grains per cell in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus compared with stress-responsive subordinates, dominants (DOM), or cage-housed control (CON) rats. The number of CRF mRNA labeled cells was also significantly lower in nonresponders than in responsive subordinates or DOM. In the central amygdala, CRF mRNA levels were increased in both groups of subordinates compared with CON rats, whereas responsive subordinates exhibited higher levels than the DOM rats as well. AVP mRNA levels did not vary with behavioral rank in any subdivision of the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus. In the medial amygdala, the number of cells expressing AVP mRNA was significantly greater in CON rats compared with both groups of subordinates, although the average number of AVP mRNA grains per cell did not vary with rank. In addition, the number of AVP-positive cells significantly correlated with plasma testosterone level.

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“…Numerous observations suggest that BSTm VP neurons exert similar effects in mammals. For instance, in both birds and mice, Fos expression in BSTm VP neurons is induced by positive, affiliative interactions but not by fighting or the presentation of negative social stimuli (38)(39)(40), and VP immunoreactivity in the BSTm is negatively correlated with aggression (33,41).…”

Section: Pvn Ot Neurons Promote Pair Bonding and Intrapair Affiliationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypothalamic oxytocin and vasopressin neurons exert sex-specific effects on pair bonding, gregariousness, and aggression in finches

Kelly

Goodson

2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

102

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Antagonism of oxytocin (OT) receptors (OTRs) impairs the formation of pair bonds in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and zebra finches (Taenioypygia guttata), and also reduces the preference for the larger of two groups ("gregariousness") in finches. These effects tend to be stronger in females. The contributions of specific peptide cell groups to these processes remain unknown, however. This issue is complicated by the fact that OTRs in finches and voles bind not only forms of OT, but also vasopressin (VP), and >10 cell groups produce each peptide in any given species. Using RNA interference, we found that knockdown of VP and OT production in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus exerts diverse behavioral effects in zebra finches, most of which are sexually differentiated. Our data show that knockdown of VP production significantly reduces gregariousness in both sexes and exerts sexspecific effects on aggression directed toward opposite-sex birds (increases in males; decreases in females), whereas OT knockdown produces female-specific deficits in gregariousness, pair bonding, and nest cup ownership; reduces side-by-side perching in both sexes; modulates stress coping; and induces hyperphagia in males. These findings demonstrate that paraventricular neurons are major contributors to the effects of VP-OT peptides on pair bonding and gregariousness; reveal previously unknown effects of sex-specific peptide on opposite-sex aggression; and demonstrate a surprising lack of effects on same-sex aggression. Finally, the observed effects of OT knockdown on feeding and stress coping parallel findings in mammals, suggesting that OT modulation of these processes is evolutionarily conserved across the amniote vertebrate classes.vasotocin | mesotocin | social behavior N umerous pharmacological studies, such as those using sitespecific infusions of agonists and antagonists, have demonstrated that the vasopressin (VP)-oxytocin (OT) nonapeptides modulate diverse behaviors, including parental care, aggression, communication, sexual behavior, affiliation, anxiety, pair bonding, and stress response (1-3). Such manipulations do not allow us to infer the functions of specific VP-OT neuronal populations, however, because the peptides are produced in numerous cell groups, at least some of which give rise to widespread and longdistance paracrine modulation, including release from axons, dendrites, and soma (4-6). The various VP-OT cell groups also exhibit overlapping axonal projections, and thus any given brain area potentially receives peptides from many different sources (4). Indeed, there is an extremely high potential for overlapping modulation from the various cell groups, because numerous brain areas produce OT and VP in any given species. For instance, 20 different forebrain areas produce OT in the mustached bat (Pteronotus parnellii) (7), and sites of VP production are comparably numerous (8). Importantly, even the smallest of these populations, such as the accessory VP populations of the anterior hypothalamus (AH)...

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Differential lateral septal vasopressin innervation in aggressive and nonaggressive male mice

Cited by 133 publications

References 28 publications

Sex Chromosome Complement and Gonadal Sex Influence Aggressive and Parental Behaviors in Mice

Sex Chromosome Complement and Gonadal Sex Influence Aggressive and Parental Behaviors in Mice

Chronic Social Stress Alters Levels of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor and Arginine Vasopressin mRNA in Rat Brain

Hypothalamic oxytocin and vasopressin neurons exert sex-specific effects on pair bonding, gregariousness, and aggression in finches

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