Dorsal and ventral striatal neuronal subpopulations differentially disrupt male mouse copulatory behavior

Abstract

The specific role of the striatum, especially its dorsolateral (DLS) and dorsomedial (DMS) parts, in male copulatory behavior is still debated. In order to clarify their contribution to male sexual behavior, we specifically ablated the major striatal neuronal subpopulations, direct and indirect medium spiny neurons (dMSNs and iMSNs) in DMS or DLS, and dMSNs, iMSNs and cholinergic interneurons in nucleus accumbens (NAc), The main results of this study can be summarized as follows: In DMS, dMSN ablation causes a reduction in the percent of mice that mount a receptive female, and a complex alteration in the parameters of the copulatory performance, that is largely opposite to the alterations induced by iMSN ablation. In DLS, dMSN ablation causes a widespread alteration in the copulatory behavior parameters, that tends to disappear at repetition of the test; iMSN ablation induces minor copulatory behavior alterations that are complementary to those observed after dMSN ablation. In NAc, dMSN ablation causes a marked reduction in the percent of mice that mount a receptive female and a disruption of copulatory behavior, while iMSN ablation induces minor copulatory behavior alterations that are opposite to those observed with dMSN ablation, and cholinergic neuron ablation induces a selective decrease in mount latency.

Balance between direct and indirect pathways of the nucleus accumbens controls social behavior in mice

“…Drd1a-Cre -/- iDTR +/- mice were used as controls. Similarly, heterozygous C57BL/6 Drd2-Cre +/- ER44 strain mice [http://www.gensat.org; (60)] were crossed with homozygous C57BL/6 iDTR +/+ mice to obtain Drd2-Cre +/- iDTR +/ - mice expressing the diphtheria toxin receptor in D2R-SPNs (61). Drd2-Cre -/- iDTR +/- mice were used as controls.…”

“…Drd1a-Cre +/- iDTR +/- and Drd1a-Cre -/- iDTR +/- or Drd2-Cre +/- iDTR +/- and Drd2-Cre -/- iDTR +/- mice were deeply anesthetized at the age of 8 weeks and placed on a stereotaxic frame, as described previously (49,58,61). The stereotaxic injection of diphtheria toxin (DT; Sigma-Aldrich; 100 pg/µl; diluted in 0.01M PBS) was performed with a blunt needle in the striatum.…”

The ventral hippocampus and nucleus accumbens underlie long-term social memory about female conspecifics in male mice

“…Additionally, D1R-MSN ablation in the NAc results in a decrease in sexual arousal, while D2R-MSN ablation increases sexual arousal (Detraux et al, 2021). Taken together, the D1R-MSNs in the NAc play a stimulatory role in mouse sexual behavior, while the D2R-MSNs play an inhibitory role.…”

“…Dopamine-deficient (DA-/-) mice exhibit impairments in sexual behavior, but the administration of a D1R agonist, but not a D2R agonist, to the DA-/- mice leads to an improvement in these impairments (Szczypka et al, 1998). Additionally, D1R-MSN ablation in the NAc results in a decrease in sexual arousal, while D2R-MSN ablation increases sexual arousal (Detraux et al, 2021). Taken together, the D1R-MSNs in the NAc play a stimulatory role in mouse sexual behavior, while the D2R-MSNs play an inhibitory role.…”