The Role of Dorsal Hippocampal Dopamine D1-Type Receptors in Social Learning, Social Interactions, and Food Intake in Male and Female Mice

Abstract

The neurobiological mechanisms underlying social learning (ie, in which an animal's learning is influenced by another) are slowly being unraveled. Previous work with systemic treatments shows that dopamine (DA) D1-type receptors mediate social learning in the social transmission of food preferences (STFP) in mice. This study examines the involvement of one brain region underlying this effect. The ventral tegmental area has dopaminergic projections to many limbic structures, including the hippocampus-a site important for social learning in the STFP in rodents. In this study, adult male and female CD-1 mice received a dorsal hippocampal microinfusion of the D1-like receptor antagonist SCH23390 at 1, 2, 4, or 6 μg/μl 15 min before a 30 min social interaction with a same-sex conspecific, in which mice had the opportunity to learn a socially transmitted food preference. Results show that social learning was blocked in female mice microinfused with 6 μg/μl, and in males infused with 1, 4, or 6 μg/μl of SCH23390. This social learning impairment could not be explained by changes in total food intake, or olfactory discrimination. A detailed analysis of the social interactions also revealed that although SCH23390 did not affect oronasal investigation for either sex, drug treatments affected other social behaviors in a sex-specific manner; there was primarily a reduction in agonistic-related behaviors among males, and social investigatory-related behaviors among females. Thus, this study shows that dorsal hippocampal D1-type receptors mediate social learning and social behaviors in male and female mice.

Behavioural and brain ultrastructural changes following the systemic administration of propionic acid in adolescent male rats. Further development of a rodent model of autism

“…The results show that such regime of treatment is also capable of altering social behaviour and locomotion. Furthermore, this exposure is capable of producing measurable changes on the ultrastructure and presynaptic architecture of the axodendritic synapses of the hippocampal CA1 area, which plays a key role in memory, social function and cognition (Eichenbaum, ; Matta, Tiessen, & Choleris, ; Okuyama, ; Rolls & Wirth, ).…”

Estrogenic regulation of social behavior and sexually dimorphic brain formation

“…The dorsal hippocampus and the basolateral amygdala appeared strong candidate because both of these regions are involved in social learning and express the ERs (Carballo-Marquez et al, 2009;Hazell et al, 2009;Matta et al, 2017;Mitra et al, 2003;Winocur, 1990). However, infusions of a range of doses of 17-E in these regions did not facilitate the STFP (Ervin et al, 2014) reviewed in (Ervin et al, 2015a), not even doses that in the dorsal hippocampus had a strong facilitatory effect on social recognition (Phan et al, 2015).…”

“…Thus, it seems likely the rapid facilitation of social learning by estrogens is secondary to their action on other neurochemical systems in the brain. For example, clear sex differences are being found in the involvement of dorsal hippocampal dopamine receptors in the STFP (Matta et al, 2017;Matta et al, 2016b) reviewed in (Paletta et al, 2018), suggesting estrogens may promote social learning by rapidly enhancing the activity of dopamine or other neurochemical systems known to mediate the STFP (e.g. acetylcholine, (Carballo-Marquez et al, 2009) (Gold et al, 2011), possibly by acting on the synthetizing neurons that project to brain regions involved in social learning.…”

Effects of perinatal undernutrition on social transmission of food preference in adult male Wistar rats

“…Undernutrition also plays a critical role in the consolidation of certain types of memories, although the brain mechanisms involved are not fully understood. Furthermore, early undernutrition in rats negatively affects cognition and the neuronal assembly of the olfactory bulb (Frias et al, 2009), nucleus of the solitary tract (Rubio et al, 2004) insular cortex (Salas et al, 2012), and hippocampal structures associated with food selection processes (Díaz‐Cintra et al, 1991; Matta et al, 2017). Undernutrition disrupts the synaptic connectivity and function of the olfactory and gustatory systems at different levels, hence it may have short and long‐term functional consequences for food selection and preferences (Carreon et al, 2012; Frias et al, 2009).…”