Distinct hypothalamic control of same- and opposite-sex mounting behaviour in mice

Karigo, Tomomi; Kennedy, Ann; Yang, Baohua; Liu, Mengyu; Tai, Derek; Wahle, Iman A.; Anderson, David J.

doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2995-0

“…We next measured the effects of acute isolation on mounting behavior. Male mice commonly mount females during opposite-sex interactions, and mounting has also been reported to a lesser extent during same-sex interactions between males and females (30)(31)(32)(33). Surprisingly, we observed a robust effect of acute isolation on mounting in female-female pairs.…”

Section: Effects Of Acute Isolation On Non-vocal Social Behaviors In Same-sex and Opposite-sex Interactionscontrasting

confidence: 63%

“…This contrasts with male mounting of female mice, which is controlled by a hypothalamic brain region important for male sexual behavior (30,(41)(42)(43)(44) and is typically accompanied by USV production (Fig. 3C) (30,34,35). At present, the neural circuits that regulate female-female mounting remain unknown, and the elucidation of these circuits in future studies may shed light on the function of same-sex mounting between pairs of female mice, as well as on whether the isolation-induced increases in female social interaction observed in the current study reflect an increase in affiliative or aggressive motivation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Same-sex mounting between pairs of male mice is considered to be a low-level aggressive behavior (32), is controlled by a hypothalamic brain region important for aggression (30), and is typically not accompanied by USV production (30). This contrasts with male mounting of female mice, which is controlled by a hypothalamic brain region important for male sexual behavior (30,(41)(42)(43)(44) and is typically accompanied by USV production (Fig. 3C) (30,34,35).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

Zhao

¹

,

Ziobro

²

,

Pranic

³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Humans are extraordinarily social, and social isolation has profound effects on our behavior, ranging from increased social motivation following short periods of social isolation to increased anti-social behaviors following long-term social isolation. Mice are frequently used as a model to understand how social isolation impacts the brain and behavior. While the effects of chronic social isolation on mouse social behavior have been well studied, much less is known about how acute isolation impacts mouse social behavior and whether these effects vary according to the sex of the mouse and the behavioral context of the social encounter. To address these questions, we characterized the effects of acute (3-day) social isolation on the vocal and non-vocal social behaviors of male and female mice during same-sex and opposite-sex social interactions. Our experiments uncovered pronounced effects of acute isolation on social interactions between female mice, while revealing more subtle effects on the social behaviors of male mice during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions. Our findings advance the study of same-sex interactions between female mice as an attractive paradigm to investigate neural mechanisms through which acute isolation enhances social motivation and promotes social behavior.

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“…We next measured the effects of acute isolation on mounting behavior. Male mice commonly mount females during opposite-sex interactions, and mounting has also been reported to a lesser extent during same-sex interactions between males and females [ 30 – 33 ]. Surprisingly, we observed a robust effect of acute isolation on mounting in female-female pairs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

Zhao

¹

,

Ziobro

²

,

Pranic

³

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Humans are extraordinarily social, and social isolation has profound effects on our behavior, ranging from increased social motivation following short periods of social isolation to increased anti-social behaviors following long-term social isolation. Mice are frequently used as a model to understand how social isolation impacts the brain and behavior. While the effects of chronic social isolation on mouse social behavior have been well studied, much less is known about how acute isolation impacts mouse social behavior and whether these effects vary according to the sex of the mouse and the behavioral context of the social encounter. To address these questions, we characterized the effects of acute (3-day) social isolation on the vocal and non-vocal social behaviors of male and female mice during same-sex and opposite-sex social interactions. Our experiments uncovered pronounced effects of acute isolation on social interactions between female mice, while revealing more subtle effects on the social behaviors of male mice during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions. Our findings advance the study of same-sex interactions between female mice as an attractive paradigm to investigate neural mechanisms through which acute isolation enhances social motivation and promotes social behavior.

show abstract

“…Genetic deletion of the vomeronasal neurons in females resulted in mounting behavior (Kimchi et al, 2007). In the targeted brain regions in the hypothalamus, several studied uncover the responsible nucleus for the production of USVs (Gao et al, 2019;Michael et al, 2020;Karigo et al, 2021). These results suggest that USV emissions depend on the main olfactory bulb-anterior olfactory nucleus-medial amygdala-hypothalamus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testosterone Increases the Emission of Ultrasonic Vocalizations With Different Acoustic Characteristics in Mice

Kikusui

¹

,

Sonobe

²

,

Yoshida

³

et al. 2021

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Testosterone masculinizes male sexual behavior through an organizational and activational effects. We previously reported that the emission of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in male mice was dependent on the organizational effects of testosterone; females treated with testosterone in the perinatal and peripubertal periods, but not in adults, had increased USV emissions compared to males. Recently, it was revealed that male USVs have various acoustic characteristics and these variations were related to behavioral interactions with other mice. In this regard, the detailed acoustic characteristic changes induced by testosterone have not been fully elucidated. Here, we revealed that testosterone administered to female and male mice modulated the acoustic characteristics of USVs. There was no clear difference in acoustic characteristics between males and females. Call frequencies were higher in testosterone propionate (TP)-treated males and females compared to control males and females. When the calls were classified into nine types, there was also no distinctive difference between males and females, but TP increased the number of calls with a high frequency, and decreased the number of calls with a low frequency and short duration. The transition analysis by call type revealed that even though there was no statistically significant difference, TP-treated males and females had a similar pattern of transition to control males and females, respectively. Collectively, these results suggest that testosterone treatment can enhance the emission of USVs both in male and female, but the acoustic characteristics of TP-treated females were not the same as those of intact males.

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Distinct hypothalamic control of same- and opposite-sex mounting behaviour in mice

Cited by 134 publications

References 42 publications

Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

Testosterone Increases the Emission of Ultrasonic Vocalizations With Different Acoustic Characteristics in Mice

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