Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
EMBO Rep. 2023 Oct 9;24(10):e56839. doi: 10.15252/embr.202356839. Epub 2023 Aug 2.
The formation of social memory between individuals of the opposite sex is crucial for expanding mating options or establishing monogamous pair bonding. A specialized neuronal circuit that regulates social memory could enhance an individual's mating opportunities and provide a parallel pathway for computing social behaviors. While the influence of light exposure on various forms of memory, such as fear and object memory, has been studied, its modulation of social recognition memory remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that acute exposure to light impairs social recognition memory (SRM) in mice. Unlike sound and touch stimuli, light inhibits oxytocin neurons in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) via M1 SON-projecting intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) and GABAergic neurons in the perinuclear zone of the SON (pSON). We further show that optogenetic activation of SON oxytocin neurons using channelrhodopsin is sufficient to enhance SRM performance, even under light conditions. Our findings unveil a dedicated neuronal circuit through which luminance affects SRM, utilizing a non-image-forming visual pathway, distinct from the canonical modulatory role of the oxytocin system.
异性个体之间社会记忆的形成对于扩大交配选择或建立一夫一妻制配对结合至关重要。调节社会记忆的特定神经元回路可以增强个体的交配机会，并为计算社会行为提供平行途径。虽然已经研究了光照对各种形式的记忆（如恐惧和物体记忆）的影响，但它对社会识别记忆的调节仍不清楚。在这里，我们证明急性光照暴露会损害小鼠的社会识别记忆（SRM）。与声音和触觉刺激不同，光通过 M1 SON 投射的内在光敏视网膜神经节细胞（ipRGC）和 SON 核周区（pSON）中的 GABA 能神经元抑制视上核（SON）中的催产素神经元。我们进一步表明，使用通道视紫红质对 SON 催产素神经元进行光遗传学激活足以增强 SRM 表现，即使在光照条件下也是如此。我们的发现揭示了一个专门的神经元回路，通过该回路，亮度通过非成像视觉途径影响 SRM，与催产素系统的经典调节作用不同。
