Serotonin blocks vasopressin-facilitated offensive aggression: Interactions within the ventrolateral hypothalamus of golden hamsters

Delville, Yvin; Mansour, Karim; Ferris, Craig F.

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(95)02166-3

Cited by 139 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…28 In hamsters, fluoxetine reduces agonistic behavior, an effect mediated by the vasopressinergic system. 26,29 Therefore, if basal anxiety were reduced in V1bRKOs, aggression could be reduced secondarily. Basal anxiety, as measured using the elevated plus maze, is normal in the knockouts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vasopressin V1b receptor knockout reduces aggressive behavior in male mice

et al. 2002

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Increased aggression is commonly associated with many neurological and psychiatric disorders. Current treatments are largely empirical and are often accompanied by severe side effects, underscoring the need for a better understanding of the neural bases of aggression. Vasopressin, acting through its 1a receptor subtype, is known to affect aggressive behaviors. The vasopressin 1b receptor (V1bR) is also expressed in the brain, but has received much less attention due to a lack of specific drugs. Here we report that mice without the V1bR exhibit markedly reduced aggression and modestly impaired social recognition. By contrast, they perform normally in all the other behaviors that we have examined, such as sexual behavior, suggesting that reduced aggression and social memory are not simply the result of a global deficit in sensorimotor function or motivation. Fos-mapping within chemosensory responsive regions suggests that the behavioral deficits in V1bR knockout mice are not due to defects in detection and transmission of chemosensory signals to the brain. We suggest that V1bR antagonists could prove useful for treating aggressive behavior seen, for example, in dementias and traumatic brain injuries. Molecular Psychiatry (2002) 7, 975-984.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vasopressin V1b receptor knockout reduces aggressive behavior in male mice

et al. 2002

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“…Serotonin (5-HT) has been associated with complex regulatory processes such as anxiety, depression, and impulse control [47][48][49]. An increasing body of data further suggests that the serotonergic system also plays a principal role in the regulation of attack and defense [49][50][51][52][53]. It has been shown that 5-HT exerts an inhibitory influence on defensive forms of aggression through the activation of 5-HT 1A receptors [54,55].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative analysis of the mechanisms of attack and defense among higher brain animals

Nathaniel

Femi²,

Nathaniel

2006

Open Life Sciences

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Many studies have investigated different mechanisms of attack and defense in different species of higher brain animals including cats, rats, rodents, mice, and even in some bird species. However, detailed comparative analysis has not been carried out to understand the major similarities in the mechanisms of attack and defense across the different species of vertebrates. Although there are differences, there are also significant similarities as well, which warrant comparative assessment. By considering ethological ideas associated with the motivational defense system, we investigated the motor patterns of attack and defense in cats and rats, using the "resident-intruder" experimental paradigm. Our results reveal specific similarities and differences in the motor patterns of attack and defense in rats and cats. We discuss comparatively the mechanisms of attack and defense across different species of vertebrates, focusing on motor patterns, neuromodulating factors, brains neural substrates, and circuitry.

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“…In the golden hamster, AVP facilitated offensive aggression in males, which can be blocked by pretreatment with a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) (Delville et al, 1996;Ferris and Delville, 1994) or 5-HTR 1A agonist (Ferris et al, 1999). A direct interaction between serotonergic and vasopressin neurons in the anterior hypothalamus of hamsters was described (Ferris et al, 1997) and the possibility of a similar case in the weakly electric fish Gymnotus omarorum was recently speculated (Zubizarreta et al, 2012).…”

Section: Serotonin and Sexual Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Social status differences regulate the serotonergic system of a cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni

Loveland

Maruska

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Serotonin (5-HT) inhibits aggression and modulates aspects of sexual behaviour in many species, but the mechanisms responsible are not well understood. Here, we exploited the social dominance hierarchy of Astatotilapia burtoni to understand the role of the serotonergic system in long-term maintenance of social status. We identified three populations of 5-HT cells in dorsal and ventral periventricular pretectal nuclei (PPd, PPv), the nucleus of the paraventricular organ (PVO) and raphe. Dominant males had more 5-HT cells than subordinates in the raphe, but the size of these cells did not differ between social groups. Subordinates had higher serotonergic turnover in the raphe and preoptic area (POA), a nucleus essential for hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis function. The relative abundance of mRNAs for 5-HT receptor (5-HTR) subtypes 1A and 2A (htr1a, htr2a) was higher in subordinates, a difference restricted to the telencephalon. Because social status is tightly linked to reproductive capacity, we asked whether serotonin turnover and the expression of its receptors correlated with testes size and circulating levels of 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT). We found negative correlations between both raphe and POA serotonin turnover and testes size, as well as between htr1a mRNA levels and circulating 11-KT. Thus, increased serotonin turnover in non-aggressive males is restricted to specific brain nuclei and is associated with increased expression of 5-HTR subtypes 1A and 2A exclusively in the telencephalon.

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Serotonin blocks vasopressin-facilitated offensive aggression: Interactions within the ventrolateral hypothalamus of golden hamsters

Cited by 139 publications

References 18 publications

Vasopressin V1b receptor knockout reduces aggressive behavior in male mice

Vasopressin V1b receptor knockout reduces aggressive behavior in male mice

Comparative analysis of the mechanisms of attack and defense among higher brain animals

Social status differences regulate the serotonergic system of a cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni

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