Hormone-dependent aggression in male and female rats: Experiential, hormonal, and neural foundations

Albert, D.J.; Jonik, R.H.; Walsh, M.L.

doi:10.1016/s0149-7634(05)80179-4

Cited by 135 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 124 publications

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“…increase maternal aggression toward adult male intruders (20,21), but do not similarly increase infant-directed aggression. Behavioral responses to progesterone in males may in turn depend on androgen-mediated masculinization of brain structures during prenatal and neonatal neurodevelopment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progesterone receptors mediate male aggression toward infants

Schneider

Stone²,

Wynne‐Edwards

et al. 2003

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

103

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Neuroendocrine mechanisms that mediate male aggression toward infants are poorly understood. Although testosterone is known to enhance aggression in other social contexts, evidence that it modulates aggression toward infants is equivocal. We have found that male progesterone receptor knockout (PRKO) mice exhibit no infanticidal behavior and little aggression toward young. Male PRKO mice also display significantly enhanced parental behaviors. In wild-type mice, blockade of PR induces a behavioral phenotype similar to that of the PRKO males, whereas progesterone exacerbates aggressive tendencies toward infants. Aggressive behaviors directed toward adult males, by contrast, are unaffected by progesterone, PR antagonism, or PR gene deletion. Previously thought to be of diminished importance in male animals, PRs play a critical and specific role in modulating infantdirected behaviors in male mice.A dult male animals display a repertoire of behaviors toward conspecific infants that can include some combination of parental care, indifference, and aggression. Parental care is the least commonly observed of these behaviors among male mammals, though it can predominate in male Djungarian hamsters, Mongolian gerbils, cotton-top tamarins, prairie voles, some strains of mice, and humans. In most strains of laboratory mice, however, indifference or overt aggression toward infants is most common; parental care is usually only observed after careful sensitization of the adult male to pups.The neuroendocrine mechanisms mediating aggressive behavior toward infants remain obscure. Because testosterone (T) has long been known to enhance intermale aggression, the aggression of adult males toward offspring and absence of paternal care have also been considered T-dependent behaviors. High T levels, however, do not necessarily decrease paternal behavior in many species (1, 2) and even promote paternal behavior in the California mouse, Peromyscus californicus (3) via aromatization to estrogen (4). Furthermore, T levels do not correlate with paternal behavior in common laboratory mice (5). In humans, some fathers experience a decrease in T levels immediately after birth of a child (6, 7); however, its association with paternal behaviors is not known.The inconsistency of reported associations between T and infant-directed male behaviors lead us to consider the possibility that this type of male aggression may be governed by neuroendocrine regulatory mechanisms that differ from those controlling intermale aggression. We specifically assessed the possibility that male aggression toward infants may be modulated by progesterone, via the intracellular progesterone receptor (PR). Traditionally viewed as a hormone that controls female reproductive behavior and physiology, recent work has suggested that progesterone may also influence male reproductive behaviors (8) as well as male-specific development of the hypothalamus (9). These findings, together with the observations that progesterone can inhibit parental behaviors in female rodents (10), p...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progesterone receptors mediate male aggression toward infants

Schneider

Stone²,

Wynne‐Edwards

et al. 2003

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

103

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“…In addition, dominant animals spend more time in physical contact with females, engaging in anogenital sniffing and mating (Blanchard et al, 2001). Both aggression and mating are linked to enhanced levels of testosterone (Taylor et al, 1985;Albert et al, 1992). Thus, dominant animals may have more new neurons as a result of experience-dependent increases in testosterone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dominance Hierarchy Influences Adult Neurogenesis in the Dentate Gyrus: Figure 1.

Kozorovitskiy¹,

Gould²

2004

J. Neurosci.

157

105

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Many mammalian species form dominance hierarchies, but it remains unknown whether differences in social status correspond to structural differences in the brain. Stressful experiences may arise naturally during the establishment of dominance, and stress has been linked to adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus. To determine whether position in a dominance hierarchy leads to changes in adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus, we examined the brains of rats housed in a visible burrow system (VBS), a seminaturalistic environment with opportunities for social interaction. Dominance hierarchies emerged among the males in all colonies within 3 d of living in the VBS. Although cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus did not differ between the groups, more new neurons were observed in the dentate gyrus of the dominant males compared with both subordinates and controls. Dominant and subordinate animals showed similar basal, stress, and recovery from stress levels of corticosterone, as well as similar thymus, adrenal gland, and body weights, suggesting that variables other than stress are responsible for the observed changes in adult neurogenesis. The differences in brain structure persisted among the animals that had no access to the burrow system after the dominance hierarchy stabilized, suggesting that social status rather than living in a complex environment accounts for the effect of dominance on adult neurogenesis.

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“…Brain factors that have been shown to significantly contribute to the onset and maintenance of the complex repertoire of maternal behaviours include the elevated availability of the neuropeptides OXT [2,74], PRL [49,75], as well as AVP [76,77,78,79,80] and their receptors. Moreover, the rapid fall in plasma progesterone and testosterone (that occurs between pregnancy days 18 and 21 in rodents), as well as the decreased activity of the CRH system, have been shown to be of importance for the onset of maternal behaviour and aggression [48,81,82]. These alterations act in concert to result in an increased display of aggression towards intruders with a concurrent decrease in anxiety [34,37,49,83].…”

Section: Behavioural Alterationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Stress to Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders: How Chronic Peripartum Stress Can Impair Maternal Adaptations

Hillerer¹,

Neumann²,

Slattery³

2011

Neuroendocrinology

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The peripartum period, in all mammalian species, is characterised by numerous adaptations at neuroendocrine, molecular and behavioural levels that prepare the female for the challenges of motherhood. These changes have been well characterised and, while they are necessary to ensure the survival and nurturance of the offspring, there is growing belief that they are also required for maternal mental health. Thus, while increased calmness and attenuated stress responsivity are common characteristics of the peripartum period, it also represents a time of increased susceptibility to mood disorders. While a number of risk factors for these disorders are known, their underlying aetiology remains poorly understood, due at least in part to a lack of appropriate animal models. One translatable risk factor is stress exposure during the peripartum period. In the following review we first describe common peripartum adaptations and the impact postpartum mood disorders have on these. We then discuss the known consequences of peripartum stress exposure on such maternal adaptations that have been described in basic research.

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Hormone-dependent aggression in male and female rats: Experiential, hormonal, and neural foundations

Cited by 135 publications

References 124 publications

Progesterone receptors mediate male aggression toward infants

Progesterone receptors mediate male aggression toward infants

Dominance Hierarchy Influences Adult Neurogenesis in the Dentate Gyrus: Figure 1.

From Stress to Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders: How Chronic Peripartum Stress Can Impair Maternal Adaptations

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