Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is pivotal in the coordinated regulation of food intake, growth, and reproduction, ensuring that procreation and growth occur only when food is abundant and allowing for energy conservation when food is scant. Although emotional and behavioral responses from the higher brain are known to be involved in all of these functions, understanding of the coordinated regulation of emotion͞behavior and physiological functions is lacking. Here, we show that the NPY system plays a central role in this process because ablation of the Y1 receptor gene leads to a strong increase in territorial aggressive behavior. After exposure to the resident-intruder test, expression of c-fos mRNA in Y1-knockout mice is significantly increased in the medial amygdala, consistent with the activation of centers known to be important in regulating aggressive behavior. Expression of the serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] synthesis enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase is significantly reduced in Y1-deficient mice. Importantly, treatment with a 5-HT-1A agonist, (؎)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin hydrobromide, abolished the aggressive behavior in Y1-knockout mice. These results suggest that NPY acting through Y1 receptors regulates the 5-HT system, thereby coordinately linking physiological survival mechanisms such as food intake with enabling territorial aggressive behavior.
Aggression is a fundamental behavior that has evolved to help organisms compete for limited resources and, therefore, to guarantee survival of the species. Behavioral, pharmacological, and genetic studies have shown that specific neuronal circuits and various neurotransmitters and hormones modulate impulsiveness and aggressiveness in animal models as well as humans (1, 2). In particular, brain areas such as the olfactory bulb, the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, several hypothalamic structures, and the area of the periaqueductal gray have been implicated in the regulation of emotion-and aggression-related behavior (3).Although science has begun to reveal these neuronal circuits involved in regulating aggression, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that link particular physiological events with appropriate aggressive behavior. For example, aggressive behavior could be advantageous for hunting or defending a territory, especially when an individual is hungry and there is competition for a limited food supply. Similarly, aggression in males of many species can be advantageous in attracting the fittest partner. However, the mechanisms by which aggression and appetite or aggression and sexual drive are coordinately regulated are unknown.We hypothesized that the evolutionary conserved neuropeptide Y (NPY) and its Y-receptor system may fulfill this important role of integrating aggressive behavior, especially territorial aggressive behavior, with other survival-related physiological functions. NPY is widely expressed in the brain, including the cerebral cortex, the hippocampus, the hypothalamus, the septum, and the brainstem (4). Central NPY syst...